


The 112th Hunger Games: Reflections

by creativewriter2010



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Death, District 11, District 12, District 4, F/M, Family, Gamemakers - Freeform, Heartache, Hope, Hunger Games, Hunger Games-Typical Death/Violence, Love/Hate, Pain, Parents Katniss Everdeen & Peeta Mellark, Peace, Peacekeepers, Post-Hunger Games, President Snow - Freeform, Rue - Freeform, Rye Mellark - Freeform, Survival, The Capitol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-18
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-03-08 01:28:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 39,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3190706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creativewriter2010/pseuds/creativewriter2010
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In this sequel to the 111th Hunger Games: Shadow, Zara Fitin must find a way to cope with recent tragedies. Life in District 11 has not been easy since Zara returned home after winning the Games. Zara's world is spinning out of control and no one can save her. What will happen to Zara when the Games become her reality? What happened to Katniss and Peeta's youngest child Rye Mellark? Where is Katniss and Peeta? Read and find out!!! :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please read the 111th Hunger Games: Shadow. This is the sequel :).

Chapter 1 Prologue  
Disease, famine, and death are the three words that describe my life since I arrived back home. A year has passed since Zander’s funeral and my parent’s death. Things have taken a turn for the worse. Living conditions in District 11 have become unbearable.   
When I arrived in District 11 I saw dead bodies piled on top of each other. Peacekeepers were lining up men, women, and children and shooting them straight through the head. There were hundreds of people crawling, limping, and fainting everywhere. The Peacekeepers would line up the people who had trouble walking in three rows. They blow torched every citizen in the rows until their bodies were nothing but ash on the ground.   
I grabbed the first person able bodied person I saw. It was a middle aged man.  
“What’s going on here?” I asked feeling completely bewildered.   
The man looked hesitant to speak. “This is the beginning of a plague.” The man said and then he ran away from me.  
There was so much corruption going on that none of the Peacekeepers saw me.  
I walked through a broken down village were the cotton field workers live. I found out which house Taro stayed in during one of Ronan’s rude dinner discussions. He lived in the last house in the village. I could smell a horrible scent coming from the house standing several feet away.  
The door was missing from the house, so I walked right in. I heard loud clanging noises and when I walked further into the house my mouth gaped open in shock.  
I snapped out of my daydream and stared at my appearance in the mirror. My dark brown skin was clear and smooth. My lips were dry and bloody while my almond eyes looked empty and void. I tied my hair into a bun and dressed in the pale blue button down dress the mayor forced women and girls to wear.  
I pulled my black rubber boots from under my mattress. I threw my bed sheets away since my parents died on the bed. Apparently they died of the infection.  
I slipped on my shoes and walked out of my wooden shack. The sky was dark and gray while the weather was wet and humid. The sun used beam down everyday but not anymore. The sun has shined only three times this year. It rarely rains but the sky is always cloudy and the temperatures are always smoldering hot.  
The heat only increases the horrible smell of the dead bodies that are scattered on the ground. The Peacekeepers were ordered to stop killing the infected citizens or possible infected people because we were losing too many workers. Now they just allow people work to until they die, and they leave there bodies outside to rot. I think they have become afraid of catching the infection, so they just leave bodies scattered throughout the fields, orchards, and villages. 

Around six months ago the mayor announced the disease as an epidemic of Lasserpox.  
According to the mayor, Lasserpox is an infectious disease that is a combination of small pox and lasser fever. The symptoms of the hybrid virus are neurological problems, hemorrhaging in eyes or nose, fever, severe fatigue, and vomiting. The symptoms are different for everyone and there is no cure or treatment for Lasserpox.   
The plants and crops that used to flourish throughout the District are all withering away.  
There are crippled citizens that bleed over the apples, corn, and cotton every day. The ill people in the apple orchard are spoiling the apples with their bacteria.   
I knew that it was still impossible for the virus to spread to the Capital.   
There is a board posted beside every workplace in the District. The board shows the amount of dead citizens in the District. The number changes daily. I glanced at the number today and noticed it was six thousands dead citizens, five hundred more citizens than yesterday.   
I picked the bruised, brown, and foul smelling apples from the trees while my the moisture air caused wet to run down my face.   
I felt a draining or sucking feeling on my right hand and I screamed. There were around five leechworms slithering up both of my arms and I climbed down the ladder and attempted to knock them off. The leeches were sucking my blood and I feared they could have come in contact with someone infected before. I tried to knock off the leeches, but they were glued to my arms.


	2. Chapter 2

No one said a word. I worked in a section for women ages 16-45 and no paid me any attention. Every female and male in the District 11 despised me even more since I won the Games.  
One of the Peacekeepers that guarded the apple orchard walked towards me.  
“What’s going on here?” The Peacekeeper said in his rough masculine voice.  
I ran towards the Peacekeeper and he backed away from me like I was diseased.  
“The apples are infested with leech worms.” I said holding out my arms.  
The Peacekeeper looked at my arms and pulled a laser gun out of his pants pocket.  
The Peacekeeper held the gun over both of my arms and a blue laser light shined over the leeches.  
The leeches evaporated and I sighed in relief. The leeches left small dark brown bites all over my arms. The Peacekeeper grabbed one of my sore arms.  
“You’re coming with me.” He said through clenched teeth.  
The Peacekeeper pulled me to the side.  
“The mayor has ordered for everyone alive to be moved to the cotton field. This entire area of the District is contaminated, so you’ll work in the cotton field from sun up to sun down. You’ll be staying in the village near the cotton field. I want all of you to line up and follow me.” The Peacekeeper commanded with his deep and raspy voice.  
Everyone in the apple orchard climbed down there ladder’s and lined up behind the Peacekeeper. Three other Peacekeepers watched everyone closely as they formed a straight line. The Peacekeepers held up their guns ready to shoot an innocent person at any moment.  
The Peacekeeper gripped my arm tightly like he thought I would try to escape. I tried to loosen his grip on my arm, but he gripped my arms so tight I knew I would be left with several bruises. The cotton field was about twenty miles away from the apple orchard. The Peacekeeper walked like he was in a hurry, and I tried to keep up with him.  
We arrived at the wide and long field of cotton. Instead of stopping at the field the Peacekeeper continued walking. We passed the field and I knew we were headed to the town square.  
District 11’s town is only three miles away from the cotton field and broken down village. There are several people who work as servants for Mayor Chuks Beel. Mayor Beel and his servants are the only citizens not living poverty District 11. They all live in Victor’s Village which is the only village located in town.  
The Peacekeeper pulled me into the town square and the line of women, men, and children trailed behind us. We stopped in the center of the town square and the Peacekeeper knocked me on the ground.  
“Get on your knees.” The Peacekeeper instructed.  
I turned my head around the see the Peacekeeper take off his helmet. The Peacekeeper had fair skin and a huge scar under his eye. One of the Peacekeeper’s handed him a stockwhip.  
“Unbutton your dress.” The Peacekeeper with the scar said.  
I looked at him like he was insane. “You are not serious?”  
The Peacekeeper lashed the whip across my back. My hold body shook from the stinging pain. I got on my knees and unbuttoned my dress. The dress fell just below my waist and my black hand sewn bra was shown to everyone who stood in the circle around us.  
I saw a young male with tan skin and long dark brown hair staring at me intently. He did not seem amused by me being half naked but he gave me a look of pity. I looked away from him and stared at the ground.  
The Peacekeeper hit me with the whip again and the thin, sharp whip sliced through my skin. I covered my mouth to prevent from screaming. I started biting my lip as the Peacekeeper continued to lash me with the whip. The stinging pain radiated throughout my entire body and I knew nothing could conceal the pain. The Peacekeeper hit me on the top, middle, and bottom of my back.  
I streaked like a wounded animal and slightly prayed for this torture to end. Finally, after what felt like hours, the Peacekeeper stopped whipping me. My knees were cut up and bruised and I fell onto my side.  
I curled up into a ball and I closed my unbuttoned dress with my hand. The Peacekeeper spit into my hair and if I was not weakened by his whip, I would have taken his gun and shot him in the head. I closed my eyes and tried not to cry.  
I pressed my cheek on the warm ground and I tried to conceal the emotion welling up inside me. I felt like I was going to die and I aloud a loud wail to escape my mouth. I could not contain it any longer. Tears ran down my cheeks and I sobbed loudly. No one tried to save me. Everyone watched me get whipped for no reason and no one tried to save me.  
All of my pinned up emotion flooded out me. I cried not only for myself but for Zander and my parents. I cried because I never mourned their deaths. I tried to pretend like everything was going to be ok, but I was only fooling myself. I never shed a tear for my parents and that thought made my sobbing increase.  
Rain started to fall from the sky. It had not rained in months, but today there was a downpour. I continued to lie on the ground and I cried myself to sleep.  
The Next Morning  
I rubbed my nose against a soft pillow that smelled like fresh herbs. My eyes popped open I observed an unfamiliar area. I sat up on the bed and I noticed my back pain was gone. I was wearing a short white tattered gown. I looked down at my arms and the leech bites were gone. I noticed the house was the exact same size as my old home. The home was the size of one regular sized bedroom. The house had one bed and an area that was covered with a torn bed sheet. The area was used for washing. It also had a large mirror on the wall and a wooden chair.  
I heard the sound of the door knob turning and I gazed at the front door. The door opened and a tall young male walked into the room.  
It was the male I spotted in town before I was whipped by the Peacekeeper. He had dark brown waist length hair, almond shaped hazel eyes, tan skin, and lean muscles. It looked like he was about six feet tall. He appeared to be Native American and I assumed he was my age which is eighteen.  
I scooted back on the bed. He stared at me nervously. “Good morning,” he said.  
“Who are you?” I asked suspiciously.  
“My name is Zen Moon.” Zen said standing on other side of the room.  
“You were unconscious after they beat you, so I lifted you off the ground and carried you here. I tried to find an abandoned house for you to live in, but all of them were taken. I brought you here in my home, and I threw away your dress since it was drenched in blood. I cleaned your cuts and rubbed some Aloe Vera sap onto the gashes across your back.” Zen said playing with a black bird feather.  
I gasped. “You took off my dress while I was unconscious?”  
“Yes, I did not want blood all over my bed sheets.” Zen said in a matter of fact way.  
“Why did you help me?” I said knowing he wanted something.  
“Does there have to be a reason?” Zen said.  
“There is a reason behind everything. So why are you helping me?” I said getting off the bed.  
“I think we can help each other.” Zen said bluntly. I froze.  
Zen picked up the pale blue dress that was lying on the wooden chair. “This dress was my mothers. You both should be around the same size.” Zen said handing me the pale blue dress.  
“I will wear the dress, but I want you to stay away from me.” I snatched the dress from his hands.  
Zen smiled. “I will see you in the field Zara Fitin.” He said and I shook my head at him. He acted like it was important that he knew my whole name. I was famous, but I also was hated.  
I put on the dress and I started to cough harshly. I covered my mouth with my hands. I uncovered my mouth and looked down at my hands. They were covered in dark red blood, and I wiped my hands on a dirty rag sitting in the wash area. I walked out of the door and down the narrow path to the cotton field.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to the guest who left a Kudos on the first chapter! :))


	3. Chapter 3

5:00 am the Next Morning   
Zara POV:  
I slowly lifted my eyelids and I was hit with a wave of pain from my head to my toes. I tried to lift my arm, but it felt like my muscles had been pulled. My bones were stiff and they ached with a burning, stabbing pain. My vision was blurry and my head was throbbing. I tried to lift my back off the bed, but I fell back onto the mattress in exhaustion.   
I heard the sound of the doorknob moving and the door opened slowly.   
I whined from the pain. “Hey, you’re finally awake.” Zen said closing the door.  
“Finally awake,” I said feeling confused.   
“Yeah, you have been asleep for three days. I did not want to wake you, so I decided to just let you rest.” Zen said.  
“Why didn’t you wake me? I could have been in a coma.” I said with a dry and raspy tone.  
“I would have known if you were in a coma or not. I also really thought you needed some rest. I know you probably hate working in the cotton field. I hate it and I have been working out there since I was five.” Zen said.  
“I still did not plan on sleeping for three days.” I said feeling emotionally drained.  
Zen watched me cautiously. “I think you have contracted Lasserpox.” Zen said knowing it was not a question.  
I nodded. “I think so too. I was able to avoid the virus for a whole year until I was beaten four days ago.”  
“How do you feel?” Zen asked.   
I smirked. “Just wonderful,” I said sarcastically. I feel like I am on an elevator to Hell.”   
Zen chuckled softly. “I just came home to check on you, so I’m going back to work.” Zen said walking toward the door.  
“I will be back with some rations for you to eat when I get off at 3:00 a.m.” Zen said and he walked out of the door.  
Rye Mellark POV:  
My mind started to spin with memories. There were memories of my family and of the Games. My brain was sent into overdrive and my eyes fluttered open. I stared up a white ceiling above me and the white walls around me. I felt air shooting into my nose and I noticed I was wearing an oxygen mask. I tore the mask from my face and I saw an IV in the center of my arm.   
I snatched the device out of my arm and jumped out of the white cotton filled bed.   
I fell onto the cold dirty floor.  
“I am in District 12’s hospital.” I said taking in my surroundings. There was a hologram of my heart beat in the corner of the room and there was another screen showing my brain activity. I looked down and I saw I was wearing a light blue hospital gown.   
I got off the hospital floor and I saw a small table sitting across from the bed. The table was full of surgical tools and I grabbed a sliver scalpel. I held the scalpel in my hand and walked out of the door less room.   
I walked down the vacant hallway and it felt like my legs were going to give out. I held onto the wall for support and continued moving.  
I heard faints voices coming from one of the rooms down the hall. I walked down a short hall to the right. The hallway had dim lighting and I pressed my back against the wall. I tried to listen to the faint voices.   
“Yes, the surgery was successful but the patient is still unresponsive.” A male voice said.  
“Do you have any propositions?” Another person said.  
“I have weighed out all the options. I think we should just confront him about this?” The male said and I leaned my ear towards the hallway, so I could hear the clearly.   
“Mr. Mellark you are awake.” A young male doctor said standing behind me. He was wearing a white lab coat and white pants. I noticed his name tag said Dr. Durand.   
I moved back onto the long hallway and I accidently ran into another doctor. I turned around and stood in the middle of both of them.  
“What’s going on here?” I asked wanting a logical answer.   
The doctors exchanged looks. The other doctor was short, rotund, and appeared to be middle aged. His name tag said Dr. Vachel.  
“Where is my parents and sister?” Neither of them said anything.   
Where are they?” I said growing impatient.  
Doctor Durand hesitated to speak. “Things have changed since you fainted at Zander Chronis’s funeral. You were stabbed in the kidneys during the Hunger Games. The puncture wound damaged your kidneys greatly. If you were able to come to the hospital after the accident, then you would have been fine.” Dr. Durand said pausing.  
“Your kidneys became infected and they failed sometime after you were stabbed. You received Zander’s kidney since he was an organ donor and he was a match. We had to sedate you, so you could heal properly from such a procedure. A year has passed since you entered the Hunger Games.” Dr. Durand stated while Dr. Vachel stood on the other side of the hall.  
“I was asleep for a whole year.” I said in shock.  
I gave both of the doctors a serious glare. “Where is my family?”   
Dr. Durand did not seem intimidated. “Katniss and Peeta Mellark have been confined in solitary since the funeral. They were already in the Capitol when you blacked out. Your body was examined at a hospital in the Capitol. After your parents heard about your condition, they wanted your body to be transported to the District 12 because they knew a good doctor who could treat you. We placed your body onto the Hovercraft, but unfortunately Chronis’s guards grabbed your parents.” Dr. Durand continued and I did not know what to believe.  
“They were knocked unconscious and taken to one of President Chronis’s prisons while you were on your death bed. When you arrived in District 12 your sister was already waiting at the hospital. She did not know about your parents, but when we informed her about the incident she did not handle it well.”  
Dr. Vachel interrupted. “Your sister started to panic and act erratic, so that left us with only one option.” Vachel paused for a dramatic effect.  
“I injected her with this to calm her nerves.” Vachel said holding up a small syringe. I backed away from both of the doctors. My back touched the wall and the doctors cornered me.   
I recognized the medicine in the syringe. “The syringe is filled with Propofel. That is a lethal drug used to kill sick animals.” I said looking at both of them.  
Dr. Vachel nodded and prepared the syringe.  
“You killed my sister Willow.” I said letting their words sink in.  
“You seemed troubled Mr. Mellark perhaps you need some rest.” Dr. Durand said with malice clear in his voice.   
I allowed my anger to control me. I stabbed Dr. Vachel in his left eye with the scalpel. Blood splashed from the doctor’s eyeball and he fell dead. The syringe rolled out of Dr. Vachel’s hand and down the hallway. Dr. Durand tried to run after the syringe, but I grabbed the collar on his lab coat.   
I slammed him against the wall and punched him in the face twice. Dr. Durand nose was bruised and bleeding. He seemed half conscious, so I threw his body onto the floor. Dr. Durand did not attempt to fight back, so I kicked him on the side of his head to make sure he would not retaliate. I picked up the syringe and ran out of the Hospital’s front door.  
3:00 am in District 11  
Zara POV:  
I could feel it. I could feel my death drawing closer. I was slipping in and out of consciousness, and I could not focus. Zen placed an old washcloth on my forehead and every second he would try to wipe the sweat off of my face.   
“Can I get you anything?” Zen asked and I wondered why he seemed calm.  
“Yes, can you find a cure?” I said letting my state of distress control my tongue.  
Zen did not answer me.   
“Thanks for the bone marrow and breadcrumb.” I said.  
“You are welcome.” Zen said.  
“I just hate you threw everything up.” Zen said pointing to the hand woven basket on the floor. The basket contained a pool of blood and food chunks.   
“I am sorry about that.” I said hoarsely.   
“It was out of your control.” Zen said in an understanding way.  
I tried to look at him, but his entire body was a complete blur. Everything was blurry. Before the epidemic, and before I entered the Games there was hundreds of blind people in District 11.   
“I cannot see anything Zen. I can see shapes and figures but my vision is so blurry.”  
“You are legally blind. I could tell when I first arrived here after work. I noticed that your iris’s turned light gray.” Zen said and I could see him leaning forward in the wooden chair.   
I coughed and Zen continued to pat my face. My hair was down and spread across the pillow. Zen tried to lay my hair to the side, so it would look less wild.   
Zen touching my hair reminded me of when my mother used to braid my hair into a bun.   
“Mom is that you?” I asked because I could not see anyone standing above me.  
Zen POV:  
Zara started to become delirious and I removed my hands from her hair.   
Zara sobbed lightly. “I am sorry for never saying I love you. Even though you never told me you loved me. I know you did. You took good care of me. Most parents in District 11 abandon their children or die, but you raised me.”  
Zara sobbed louder. I noticed tears of blood started to fall from her eyes. “This is my fault. Millions of people have died because of me. Their blood is on my hands. Now I am dying and going to Hell, and I am so afraid.” Zara said closing her eyes. I watched the tears fall down her face and I knew I had to do something.   
I wiped her bloody tears away with a washcloth. “Zara, I need you to listen to me. Your parents are not here, they are both dead. You are delirious right now because you’re infected with Lasserpox.” I stated hoping that she would hear me out.   
Zara turned her face towards me, even though I knew she could not see me. “Where are your parents?” Zara said in a small, frail voice.  
I sighed in distress and relief. “I never knew my father. He died on the day I was born. My mother’s name was Acacia Moon. She told me that my father was trying to run away. She said that he was trying to leave the District and move someone safer. My mother said that he was coming back for us. He just wanted to move somewhere else, so I could live a better life.”  
“I think that is what everyone here wants.” Zara said.  
I smiled. “Yes, but I doubt my father had good intentions. I think he was selfish. I believe he was going leave my mother here to raise me alone.”  
Zara had a sympathetic glare in her gray eyes. “What about your mother?”  
“My mother died about six months ago.” I said remembering the day she passed.  
“My mother taught me everything about life. My mother was kind, gentle, but she was also a force to be reckoned with if tested. Kind of like you.” I said staring at Zara.   
Zara lifted both of her eyebrows. “Did she die from the Lasserpox virus?”  
“Yes,” I replied.   
“The symptoms of the Lasserpox virus are different for everyone. Sometimes it takes a month or more to show any signs of being infected. It felt like my mother was ill for around three months until she finally died. The virus left red sores all over her skin. She used to throw up blood every day.” I said getting lost in thought.   
“I guess I should consider myself lucky. At least the virus is killing me quickly.” Zara said looking at the ceiling.   
I looked down at my sweat stained bed sheets. “When my mom was sick, I used to sneak out every night after work, and go to this abandoned field of Begonia flowers. I always picked red Begonia’s for my mom. They were her favorite flowers. On the day my mom died, I noticed there were two yellow flowers sitting at the very end of the field. I grabbed one of the flowers and the stem on the flower was leaking sap. The sap was all over my hands, so I placed some in my mouth. The plant sap tasted exactly like honey. I remembered reading about this one special plant that could cure any ailment. It was called Witch Hazl. I decided to bring the Witch Hazl to my mom, but when I got home it was too late. I touched my mother’s hand and it looked like she was sleeping. After three months of agony, she looked so peaceful. My mother was dead and nothing could cure her.”   
I looked up from the bed and I noticed that Zara was staring blankly at the ceiling.   
I listened for her heartbeat. Zara’s pulse and heartbeat was weak.  
She was blinking heavily and her eyes were turning white. Her burning feverish skin was now freezing cold.   
I walked away from the bed and out of the house.  
Rye POV:  
I stood outside of my two story large home in Victor’s Village. I always thought my family and I had the largest house in the District 12.  
I walked through the front door and the house felt unusually cold. I assumed it was because the house had been abandoned for a year.   
I saw everything looked exactly the same. I ran into the dining room, kitchen, the living room, and all of our bed rooms. Everything was in its rightful place.   
I walked up the spiral stairs towards my bedroom. My mom decorated my room in blue and black since they have always been my favorite colors.   
I took off the hospital gown and stepped in the shower.   
I had the shower programmed to 85 degrees Fahrenheit, so I would never have to worry about cold water. The shower automatically came on when I stepped in.   
I allowed the water stream down all over my body. The hot water spilled on my weak muscles and the shower was filled with steam. I looked down at my arms. I had several black holes on my arms. I knew one of the sores was from the IV I pulled out of my arm, while the other sores were problem from me receiving several injections.  
I rubbed my eyes and sighed when I thought about the hospital. I silently prayed the doctors were lying, but it was impossible. They seemed truthful about my sister and my parents.   
I felt like punching the shower’s wall when I imagined my sister fighting against the doctors. Willow was so concerned about me, it clouded her judgment. I sacrificed my life for her when I entered the Games and now she is dead. My sister was my other half. Willow may not be my better half, but I still cannot live without her.  
I rubbed my fingers through my thick coal colored hair, and my mind drifted to my parents. They were trapped in President Chronis’s prison. I remembered my parents telling me about President Snow locking people in prisons on the bottom level of his mansion.   
I stepped out of the shower and back into my bedroom. I dressed in a pair of black tight fitting pants, a sleeveless black tank, and black military style boots.   
I grabbed my black book bag, a pair of navy blue pants, and a black quartered sleeved jacket from my closet. I threw the jacket and pants in the bag. I walked back down stairs.   
I knew that I would get my parents back, without a doubt. I just did not know how. I did not have any money to travel, and I could not trust anyone in District 12 because they could be one of Chronis’s followers.   
I walked to the kitchen and placed five batter bread loafs in my bag, six slices of dried deer meat, a gallon of water, and a box of matches. I did not know what weapons to get, so I grabbed my father’s straight edge knife and my mother’s famous black bow and arrows.   
I figured that if I am traveling to the Capital to save my parents then I would need help. But I had no one to help me. I had no friends or alliances. Then one person came to my mind.   
A person that I tried to forget considering the circumstances we met in. The person that suffered through the same pain I faced, and seemed to relate to me on some twisted level. That one person could help me take down Chronis. I threw my bag over my shoulder and stormed out of the house.  
Zen POV:  
I entered my home and I saw Zara lying in the same catatonic position. I stood above Zara’s lifeless body. Her eyes were wide open, but her body was still. I pried Zara’s mouth open. I could see the infected sores on her bloody gums. I held the witch hazl plant over Zara’s mouth and allowed the sap to run down her throat. Once all of the sap was gone, I removed the plant and closed her mouth.   
Zara was still in a catatonic state, and I sat down in the wooden chair beside my bed.   
I shut her eyes and watched her chest rise and fall until I fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hmmmm…… Can you believe Willow Mellark is dead? I wonder what is happening with Katniss and Peeta?  
> Thanks for the second kudos on this story. :) I really want to write a good sequel!!


	4. Chapter 4

Zara POV:  
I could feel it. The adrenaline rushing through his veins the further he ran through the woods. He could hear the sound of the wolf mutts running past the trees. He could hear them growling and waiting to rip him apart. He ran until he could not run any longer.  
I could hear his heavy pants and voices of yelling Peacekeepers. He was too tired to run, so he decided to climb one of the nearby trees. Before he climbed the tree, he tied one end of the thick rope into a knot. After he was finished, he climbed the tree quickly.  
He was surprisingly skilled at climbing trees.   
When he arrived in the middle of the tree, he climbed onto one of its large branches. He stood on the tree’s branch and he tied the end of the rope onto the branch.  
He could see the wolf mutts running towards the tree. He placed the noose around his neck. He took one deep breath and jumped.   
I loud snap rang in my mind and everything went black.  
End of nightmare.  
Rye POV:  
I walked through the meadow and I approached District 12’s electric fence. The old, rusty wired fence is almost never electrified, so I was able to sneak under it easily.   
The woods contained deer, turkeys, and mockingjays. I heard the sounds of different and possibly dangerous creatures moving around me, but I did not let it distract me. I ignored the wondering animals and continued to walk through the familiar woods. I used to love going hunting with my mom as a kid, so I knew everything about District 12 woods.   
After several minutes passed, I arrived at the fence that borders District 12 and District 11. I was not sure if walking to the end of District 12’s woods would lead me to District 11, but when I laid my eyes on the design of the fence, I knew it had to be District 11.   
The fence looked about thirty feet high and topped with razor wire. There were several guard towers placed on the outside of the fence and I looked at the top of the towers. There was no one in sight, so I walked closer to the fence.   
I figured the fence was electric, and even if there was no one to guard it, it would be impossible to cross through it.   
The fence appeared to be made out of stone, and I walked on the outskirts of it trying to think of a way to break through it.   
I walked beside the fence until I noticed a medium sized hole in the center of the fence. The hole started from the bottom and reached through to the top.   
“What the hell.” I cursed under my breath.   
It was like it was placed there for me to cross through the fence.   
The hole contained broken pieces of stone on both sides, and I had to slide through it to avoid from being electrocuted.   
I turned sideways and slid through the hole quickly, feeling slightly paranoid.   
When I crossed through the fence, District 11’s forest surrounded me.  
I started to walk through the woods and I stared up at the sky. The sky in District 11 was dark and gloomy. I assumed it was because it was too early for the sun to rise. I walked further into the woods and my eyes went wide.  
There were hundreds of bodies hanging from trees. Most of the bodies were men. Each tree had at least three bodies hanging from its branches. The smell of decaying flesh filled my nose. The scent was toxic, and I covered my nose with my arm.   
I continued moving until I came across a familiar body. It was a dark skinned man around the age of thirty five. He had dark brown eyes and an average build. I thought about the Hunger Games, and I remembered him. He was Zara’s mentor and his name was Ronan Afolayan.   
Ronan’s eyes were open and his jaw was hanging. I wondered if vultures had been eating on his face because pieces of his skin was hanging. The sight of his body was graphic, but I knew I had to do something. I needed to blend in with the other men in District 11, so I took off Ronan’s white, blue striped shirt and pants. His clothes looked cleaner than the other men, so I stripped out of my clothes and dressed in Ronan’s uniform. I took off his shoes and placed my boots and clothes into my bag.   
While I was putting on his shoes, I heard a low growling sound. I turned around to see a pack of wolf mutts behind me. I grabbed my bag and ran through the woods. The wolf mutts were fast and I recalled my parents telling me about being chased by them in the 74th Hunger Games.  
I ran faster than I have ever had to run in my life.   
I tripped over a fallen tree branch and I felt one of the mutts sink its teeth into my ankle. The wolf mutt chewed and bit down on my ankle. I groaned in pain and the mutt tried to drag me back into the woods. I grabbed the tree branch in front of me and hit the wolf mutt in the head several times.   
The mutt fell onto its side, and I pulled one of my mother’s arrows out of my bag. I stabbed the weakened mutt through the head. I saw the other mutts, who stood behind the trees and waited to attack start to back away.  
Once the mutts were gone, I looked down at my bleeding bitten ankle. The skin around my ankle was gone and there was nothing but blood and deep black bite marks.   
I limped out of the woods and into one of the Districts wide open fields. The field was full of dead brown flowers. The air in the field smelled like rotting meat.   
I walked past several orchards. They were all filled with moldy fruits and dead bodies were scattered everywhere.   
There was no living workers or citizens around. District 11 was in complete ruins.   
I walked past an apple orchard. There was a long and deep trench right beside the apple orchard. The trench stretched from the beginning to the end of the orchard. I gazed down at the trench. There were dead bodies piled on top of each other. There were hundreds of deceased men, women, and children with missing limbs and half eaten bodies. The sight and smell of the mangled bodies made me feel sick.  
I felt a cold hand touch my wounded ankle.  
I looked down to see a dark brown skinned child lying down on the dead grass. She had her back pressed against the ground and her arm was stretched towards me. The girl had thick dark brown curls and big dark brown eyes. She looked no older than twelve years old. The girl reminded me of mom’s description of Rue.  
Her body was covered in dirt, and I assumed she must have crawled out of the trench.  
The girl continued to try to reach out to me. I saw that she was trying to speak but her lips were trembling.   
“A- Are you my savior?” The child asked.  
“No.” I replied kneeling over her body.   
“But I wish I could be.” I said genuinely.   
Two tears slid down the child’s cheeks and she died with her eyes pointed towards the sky.  
I closed her eyes and moved away her body. Even though I hated it, I had to keep moving.   
I walked towards a field full of cotton. I smiled because I finally saw living and working citizens.   
Zara POV:  
I gasped for air and I jolted out of the bed. Zen jumped out of his wooden chair and just stared at me in shock.  
“I had a nightmare.” I said quickly.   
“Oh,” Zen said with a sigh of relief.  
I wiped the sweat of my forehead and ran my hands through my wild hair. I sat down on the bed. I noticed Zen was already wearing his work clothes.   
“What happened last night?” I said feeling absent minded.   
“Do you remember being infected with the Lasserpox?” Zen said and I frowned.  
“Yes, Zen my memory was not erased.”  
“You thought I was your mom, and I reminded you that your parents are dead.” Zen paused and I stopped breathing from embarrassment.   
“You asked about my parents and I told you about them. I told you about the Begonias. They were my mother’s favorite flowers. I told you about how I found two Witch Hazl plants lying in the Begonia field. I tried to cure my mom, but it was too late. I gave you the last Witch Hazl plant last night.” Zen said.  
“I remember everything. I just did not remember you curing me with the Witch Hazl.” I said looking down at the bed.   
“Do you feel cured?” Zen said and I looked him in his hazel eyes.   
“Well, I am talking and breathing, so I would say I am cured.” I said just realizing that my vision had returned, my fever had passed, and I was pain free.   
Zen smirked. “I’m glad the Witch Hazl plant healed you. Now we know what cures Lasserpox.”   
“If we know the cure that means we can heal every infected citizen in the District.” I said getting out of bed and standing.   
“Slow down Zara.” Zen said walking towards me.  
“Were you not listening when I said the field had only two Witch Hazl plants?” Zen questioned placing his hands on my shoulders and staring into my eyes.  
“If you gave me one of the Witch Hazl plants sap then what happened to the other one?” I said and Zen looked away for a moment.  
I waited for him to answer. “I drank the other Witch Hazl plants sap. A week after my mother died, I became ill. I knew I was going to die soon, so I drank the plant sap that I was supposed to give to my mother.” Zen said quietly.  
Zen looked like he felt guilty. “We both were cured from Lasserpox while everyone else has to die.” I said shaking my head.   
Zen removed his hands from my shoulders. “I have to go to work.”  
“All right, I will be out there in a few minutes. I just have to get dressed.” I said tiredly.  
“No, you need to stay here and get some rest. You may be cured but you are not completely healed.” Zen said seriously.   
“I am fine, and what if the Peacekeepers notice my absence.” I said knowing the Peacekeepers were not showing anyone mercy.  
“You let me worry about that.” Zen placed his hand on the doorknob.   
“Fine, I really do hate working in the cotton field by the way. How did you survive thirteen years with no more than one or two hours of sleep every night?” I asked curiously.  
“I told you I hated the cotton field.” Zen said before walking out of the door.  
I lied down on the bed and fell asleep as soon as I shut my eyes.   
Zen POV:  
I kneeled down and picked several pieces of cotton and threw it into my sack. I picked the cotton gently, trying to avoid cutting myself. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an elderly lady picking cotton next to me. She was dark skinned and appeared to be very malnutrition. She was struggling to pick the cotton and I noticed someone walking towards her.   
It was Rye Mellark. “Excuse me, do you know a young woman by the name of Zara Fitin?” Rye said to the elderly woman.  
The elderly woman looked irritated. “No sir, I don’t know anyone by that name.” She said with her head pointed down towards the cotton. Her hands were shaking.  
Rye could sense the woman was lying. He stooped to her eyelevel. “Well if you see Zara let her know I asked to speak to her.” Rye said in a lower voice.   
The lady did not respond and I walked beside Rye.   
“Why do you need to speak to Zara?” I asked while picking cotton.  
“Do you know Zara?” Rye said walking closer to me.  
“Yes.” I said knowing it was obvious. “Why do you need to talk to her?”  
“I need her help. I want her help, and I traveled all the way from District 12, so we could escape together.” Rye said with a pleading look in his eyes. I imagined he used that look to get what he wanted.   
I eyed the Peacekeepers that watched us. “If you want to talk to Zara meet me at the first house on the right side of the village.” I said pointing to the village across the field.   
Rye nodded and we both continued working.  
Around 3:00 a.m.  
Zara POV:  
I felt a warm hand touch my shoulder. I assumed Zen arrived home from work and was trying to wake me for dinner. I lifted my heavy eyelids slowly.   
There was a male with a boyish appearance and big expressive blue eyes.   
I frowned. It was Rye Mellark. I thought.   
“Oh God no.” I stated moving away from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This chapter was pretty crazy but hopefully it will get better. I wrote some of this after watching Mockingjay on the day it premiered. The song The Hanging Tree helped me imagine all of the bodies in the woods. I listen to the song when I read the first part of this chapter. 
> 
> Are you, are you  
> Coming to the tree  
> They strung up a man  
> They say who murdered three.  
> Strange things did happen here  
> No stranger would it be  
> If we met at midnight  
> In the hanging tree.  
> Are you, are you  
> Coming to the tree  
> Where the dead man called out  
> For his love to flee.  
> Strange things did happen here  
> No stranger would it be  
> If we met at midnight  
> In the hanging tree.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
I threw the bed sheets off the bed swiftly. The sheets landed onto the wooden floor.  
I watched Rye as he looked down at my tattered gown that only reached the middle of my thighs.   
I was suddenly fuming with anger.   
Rye chuckled. “I pictured you greeting me that way Zara.”  
“You have no business picturing me in any way Mellark.” I got off the bed and walked past Rye. I noticed Zen was standing on the other side of the room. I stared at Zen in an annoyed way and pointed at Rye. Zen just shrugged. Rye looked at us both.  
“Why are you here Rye? Let me rephrase that. What do you want?” I said placing my arms across my chest and Rye walked towards me.   
“That is a long story.” Rye stated.  
“Well let’s start with this. How did you get here?” I asked.   
“Well after I walked through District 12’s woods without a known path, I arrived at District 11’s fence. The enormous and indestructible fence somehow had a hole in the center of it.” Rye replied.  
“A hole?” I questioned in disbelief.   
“I don’t see how that is possible. If a part of the fence was destroyed then people could have escaped the District a long time ago.” I said and Zen looked curious.  
“Unless part of the fence was destroyed recently.” Zen said with a thoughtful expression.   
“Was there anyone in the guard towers?” Zen asked.  
“No.” Rye said.  
“It must be because of the infection.” I said aware of how cautious the Peacekeepers were of catching the virus.  
“Why do you assume I have to want something?” Rye said in an irritated way.   
“I am not an idiot. You must have an important reason for being here since you have a wounded leg.” I said looking at all the blood on the bottom of his uniform.  
Rye’s eyes shot to the ceiling. “I am here for a more important reason than kidnapping you.”   
I scoffed. “I would cut you up asymmetrically before I let kidnap me.” I said walking closer him so I could intimidate him.   
Rye looked surprised. “The Games made you violent.”  
“No, I am not violent. I am just smart. Clearly the Games made you stupid.” I said confidently.   
Rye sneered and I walked around him.  
“Rye, just explain why you are here?” Zen said sounding impatient.   
“I am going to the Capitol.” Rye said abruptly.  
“Why?” I said turning around.  
“Yesterday, I woke up from a coma. Not long after you left Zander’s funeral, I passed out. Apparently, my parents were already in the Capitol so they were able to be with me while I was in the hospital.” Rye said and I interrupted him.  
“Why did you pass out?” I said not out of concern but curiosity.   
“Thane punctured my kidneys with the dagger during the Games, my kidneys became infected, and failed shortly after. Anyway, my parents wanted me to be transported to District 12’s hospital because they knew a good doctor who could perform my kidney transplant surgery. When my body was on the hovercraft, my parents were not allowed to leave with me. They were taken away by the President’s guards and locked up in one of his prisons, so that is why I need to go to the Capitol.”  
“How did you get in a coma?” I said not wanting to believe him.  
“The doctor’s in District 12’s hospital were insane. They thought I need to be put in a medically induced coma. The person who kidneys were donated to me was Zander by the way.” Rye said looking like that was significant information. I refused to react.   
“After I woke up from the coma I found out all of this information from the doctors. I was forced to stab one of them in the eye, which killed him. Then I stole the syringe of Propofel, which is the same drug they used to kill my sister Willow. I also just remembered I left the syringe at home.” Rye stated staring into space.  
“You call Zara violent.” Zen said cocking one of his thick eyebrows.  
“Your sister is dead?” I said snapping Rye out of his trance.  
“Yes, and that is another reason why I want to go to the Capitol. I need to take down Chronis and save my parents.” Rye said eagerly.   
I shook my head at him.  
“Cry me a river Rye. Take a look around you. My life has not been roses and dandelions since I left the Games either.” I said taking a breath. Rye just watched me.  
“In case you have not noticed, my parents are dead.” I said with my arms spread out.  
Rye looked around the room. “That’s why you two are living together?” Rye said pointing to the both of us.   
We both looked at Rye like the idiot he is. “What? I am just stating the obvious.”   
“This is not a time for humor Rye. After I left Zander’s funeral, I went to the Capitol’s train station. I saw my designer from the Games, Eros. He had just left the Capitol looking for Ronan, and he told me he found my parents dead in my old home.” I said and I noticed Rye looked uncomfortable for a brief moment.   
I ignored his reaction. “Unfortunately, when I arrived home my parent’s bodies were gone. I still do not were their bodies are, and I have no one to ask. Eros told me that my parents died of the virus, but I honestly do not know what happened to them.”  
“Ever since I returned from Zander’s funeral there has been an epidemic of Lasserpox. Lasserpox is an infectious disease that is a combination of small pox and lasser fever. The symptoms of Lasserpox is neurological problems, fever, hemorrhaging, fatigue, and vomiting. I have been forced to live around thousands of citizens infected with the virus. I survived a whole year without becoming infected, but around five days ago I was whipped and left outside in the rain. I slept for three days and last night I almost died.” I said looking over at Zen.  
Rye looked bemused. “Did you find a cure?” He asked looking over at Zen.  
“Yes and no.” Zen replied while moving his back off of the shack’s wall.   
“The cure for the Lasser virus may be Witch Hazel sap, but there were only two plants in District 11.” Zen said while staring at me.  
“Zen was infected before, and he drank the first plant’s sap. I drank from the last plant last night.” I said feeling slightly guilty.   
“That is why I am going to the Capitol with Rye. I am not sure if the cure is in the Capitol, but I think it’s worth finding out. If somebody does not end this now then humans in District 11 will become extinct. I will not sit back and watch anyone else die. I’m going to the Capitol, and I will help bring down Chronis even if it kills me.” Zen said with eyes like stone.  
I was lost in my own thoughts.   
“I just want to know what happened to my parents. I never saw one of them get sick and all of a sudden they became infected with the virus before the epidemic started?” I said.  
“That is a good question that none of us can answer, which is why you need to come with us Zara.” Rye said.  
“I am not going anywhere. Especially not with either one of you. I just need to acceptance things for the way they are. If I am the only living citizen in the District, then so be it. If I die, then it was meant to be. ” I replied shrugging my shoulders.  
Rye rubbed his temple. “I understand you have been through a lot this year, but there is nothing here for you Zara. You are making excuses, but what is happening is bigger than you and me.” Rye pleaded and I could see the desperation written on his face.  
“The longer we stay here, the more people die.” Zen said and I knew was right.  
“I want justice just as much as you do, but I don’t know where to begin.” I said feeling lost.  
“I don’t know where we begin from here either, but we can start by escaping this place and traveling to the capitol.” Rye said barely audible.   
I could see the anticipation in Rye’s eyes.  
“So your parents are being held as prisoners somewhere in the Capitol.” I said almost coyly. “Yes.” Rye replied quickly.  
“What I wouldn’t give to have my parents back.” I said in a daze.   
“I will go to the Capital and fight against this bastard for my parents, but do not think this means were going to hold hands along the way.” I spat and brushed past Rye and Zen.  
Zen pulled a dark brown bag from under his bed. The bag had one strap and one zipper compartment. “My father made this bag. My mom told me this was the bag he was carrying on the day he died.” Zen said unzipping the bag.   
Zen reached under the bed again. He pulled a variety plants from under the bed, several jars of plants and herbs, and placed them into his bag. He held onto one of the plants and looked down at Rye’s bloody pants leg.  
“What happened to your leg?” Zen questioned.  
“When I first arrived in District 11, I was attacked by wolf mutts.” Rye stated pulling up his pants leg and revealing the bite.   
Zen nodded. “This chamomile powder will heal it almost instantly.” Zen said handing Rye the chamomile.  
I stood by the door. “I will let you two dress and lick your wounds.” I said opening the door.  
“I am going to my old home by the apple orchard to gather some of my old things and change clothes.”  
“We will meet behind this house before the sun rises.” Zen said and I nodded.   
“Just make sure you don’t get caught.” Rye said and I shut the door without saying a word.  
It only took a few minutes for me to run to my old home. I opened the door easily since the lock was broken. The house was dark and quiet. I did not have to worry about intruders because it was only one room. There was a little small, narrow door beside our wash area. It is where my mother stored our uniforms for work.   
I found two outfits at the very back of the closet. They were two extra outfits that Eros made for me while I was training for the Games. Verna helped me pack them on the day of Zander’s funeral.   
I grabbed the two outfits and I grabbed a hand woven black bag that was made by my mother. I placed one of the outfits into the large empty bag.   
I dressed in a black shirt with ripped short sleeves, a pair of black tight fitted pants, and black military lace up ankle boots.   
I looked at my reflection in the cracked mirror on the wall. My attire was dark and edgy, but I felt weak and pathetic. My skin was clear and my lashes and brows were thicker and more defined. My lips were not dry or cracked anymore and I wondered was this the result of the Witch Hazel cure. I ran my fingers through my long, straight hair. I tied my hair into a side ponytail.  
I grabbed my black bag and walked out of the house.   
When I arrived near Zen’s home, I spotted him and Rye standing at the back of the house. I noticed Rye was wearing a black outfit like me while Zen was dressed in his uniform. They walked towards me.  
I saw Rye gazing at my attire and I suddenly felt naked. “I am guessing one of you knows how to get to the Capitol.”   
“No, but I know where we can find a map.” Zen said confidently.  
“Where?” I asked wondering where Zen found his sources.   
“The mayor should have a map of Panem in his office. Every District needs a map. If we can go to town without being seen by Peacekeepers, then we can steal the map from the Hall of Justice.” Zen said trying to keep his voice down.  
“Let’s just go before I change my mind.” I said and we all walked behind the village.   
When arrived in town in about half an hour because we crept through the fields and villages slowly.   
We walked through the town square and crossed the unpaved street. We turned one corner and we all stood in front of the justice hall.   
Normally, the town and fields would be filled with guards, but I figured they must have been off duty.   
“Mayor Beel’s office is the second room on the first floor.” Zen said placing his hands on my arms.   
“The mayor is always drunk, so it should be easy to slide past him.” Zen said and I felt confused.  
“I need you to go in there Zara. You are the fastest. Rye and I will be your lookout.” Zen said and he removed his hands from my arms.   
I wanted to refuse the difficult task, but all I could do was nod.   
I swallowed hard and I walked through the buildings back entrance. There was a narrow hall at the back of the building. The hall was dark and I noticed a dark lit room labeled kitchen. I walked through the doorway and I grabbed a knife that was lying on the counter. The knife resembled Thane’s dagger. I shook off the haunting memory.   
I walked out of the kitchen and down the hallway. The second room on the right side was labeled mayor’s office. The lights were off in the tiny office.  
The mayor snored heavily with his bottle of whiskey in his lap. The four hundred pound mayor’s body smelled like a mixture of whiskey and urine.   
I saw a white rolled up piece of paper on his desk, and I assumed it was the map.   
I quickly grabbed the map and Mayor Beel started choking off his saliva. I paused for several seconds. He continued to snore and I turned around and crept towards the door.   
“Goodnight, Ms. Fitin.” Mayor Beel said and I stopped in my tracks.  
I folded the map and shoved it into my pocket. I slowly turned around.   
“Zara Fitin. District 11’s Hunger Games victor.” Mayor Beel said showing off his rotten teeth.  
“You recognize me from the Hunger Games?” I said trying to distract him.  
The mayor laughed heavily. “Everyone knows you won the Hunger Games.”  
“You walk alone. I like that about you Fitin.” The mayor said with sleepy eyes.   
He coughed and spit out the blood leaking from the sores on his gums.   
“You have something of mine.” He said trying to catch his breath.   
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” I said.  
“You stole my map.” Mayor Beel said with no agitation in his voice.   
I gave in. “Maybe I do, but I have a good reason for it.” I said in a clever way.   
“That may be true, but I still need my map.”  
“If you let me keep the map, I will make sure you are cured. I know you are infected and I may know where the cure is.” I said feeling a little unsure.  
“Listen to me Ms. Fitin, there is no cure. My patience is thinning Zara by the second, so hand over the map.” Mayor Beel said raising his voice.  
I backed away and headed for the door.   
“Guards!” The mayor yelled. I held onto the wall and my hand ran across a black button beside the door. I ran into the hall and down the narrow hallway. I could hear the wolf mutt’s deep growls and I saw the back door open. I ran through the door, and I saw Rye and Zen standing on both sides of the door.   
“What happened?” Rye asked.   
“Don’t talk, just run.” I said getting a head start.  
Rye and Zen heard the sound of the wolf mutt’s barking.   
“Shit!” Rye yelled. Rye and Zen started running side by side.   
None of us said anything else, we just ran. We ran out of the town square with the wolf mutt’s right on our tails. The mayor did not need his guards because of the wolf mutts. Zen ran ahead of me and Rye and I realized how fast he was.  
He lead us through the woods and to the thirty foot, razor wired fence. All three of us stood at the oversized fence and I took a deep breath. The old guard towers that were built onto the fence many years ago was vacant. Rye was right. We ran to the center of the fence.  
“Where is this magical hole you were talking about Rye?” I asked feeling anxious.  
“The hole must have been mended.” Rye stated and I could hear the wolf mutts getting closer.  
I was about to place my foot onto the metal bars built onto fence but Zen grabbed me waist.   
“No, Zara the fence is electric.” Zen said holding my waist.   
I pushed him. “You said you would die trying to get the cure, so I am going to die try to get out of here.” I said planting my foot on the fence’s metal bars.  
The mutt’s claws scratched the ground as they ran closer. I continued climbing.   
“Are you two going to climb the fence or are you going to stay down there and get eaten.” I said turning around.   
Zen and Rye placed their feet on the metal part of the fence and climbed next to me. None of us were good climbers, but we continued moving until we reached the top.  
The wolf mutts were jumping up trying to grab one of us with their razor sharp teeth.   
All three of us climbed onto the cylinder shaped guard tower.   
“The fence must have been turned off.” Zen said looking down at the fence.   
“My hand accidently touched a black bottom in the mayor’s office when I was running.” I said.   
“That explains why we are alive.” Zen said and I walked toward the edge of the tower.  
“We have to jump.” Rye said standing on the edge of the tower.  
We all leaned over the edge of the thirty foot tower. “Ladies first.” Rye said gesturing toward the ground.   
I was about to say something offensive but decided to hold my tongue.   
“You are lucky your parents are alive.” I said pointing my finger at Rye. I stood on the ledge of the tower and jumped.   
We I hit the ground my body went into shock. I felt fine at first, but then a throbbing pain hit my legs and midsection.   
I struggled to stand on my feet and Rye and Zen fell beside me.   
After Rye and Zen both grunted in pain, they stood up and I realized we were out of the District 11. We walked through an empty grassland.  
The scent of animal feces mixed with the smell of blooming flowers hit my nostrils.   
“Where are we?” Rye said sounding almost irritated, and I remembered the map in my pocket.  
I opened the thin, sweat stained map and I noticed it was blank.  
“The map is blank.” I said frustrated.   
“Let me see.” Zen said taking the tan colored, paper map.  
The map had little torn pieces at the top and bottom. I wondered did Mayor Beel chew on it when he was hungry.   
“Show me the location of the District we are currently in.” Zen stated and trees, butcher shops, barns, flowers, and farms started to appear on the blank sheet of paper. At the bottom of the map the words District 10 appeared.  
“Distict 10,” Rye read.   
“The map is voice automated.” Zen said staring at the map in amazement.  
“Wonderful, now if we continuing walking through the Districts we could be in the Capitol by tomorrow.” I said knowing how unrealistic I sounded.   
We would probably be in our eighties before we arrived in the Capitol.  
Rye and Zen did not move.  
I looked on the right of the green tall grass field we stood in. There was a white circular fence with around twenty cows and bulls standing only a few feet away.   
“We are on a farm.” I said.  
There was a wooden broken down barn at the end of the farm. I knew that District 10 citizens had to be poor. Rye and Zen followed behind me, and we moved past the farm.   
I halted my footsteps suddenly, and watched as a tan, overweight bull ran towards me rapidly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: First of all, I want to say thank you to the Guest who left a review. I hope this gets better and better.  I am going on a short hiatus that will last until Spring break. These first few chapters were sort of rushed, so I need some time to really think about the next chapters. I will go on another hiatus after Spring break as well. I have several stories that I really need to write. I plan on writing a Divergent fanfiction, a Lord of the Rings fanfiction, an original zombie apocalypse story, two stories in a mystery/thriller series, and a mystery/fantasy trilogy.   
> The song for this chapter is Heroes by Alesso ft. Tove Lo. I think the song for chapter 1-3 is I See Fire by Ed Sheeran. I really think this song matches Zara in some way.   
> “And if we should die tonight. Then we should all die together.” – Ed Sheeran, I See Fire


	6. Chapter 6

Zara POV:  
I walked into the Launch Room and observed the object before me. I stared at the tube for several seconds, and I listened to the announcer count down the seconds until I made an entrance.   
A year ago, Rye and I won the 111th Hunger Games. I barely survived the Games, and now it was time to face my nightmares again.   
I questioned how this could happen, but it was already explained during training. Every tribute in the 112th Hunger Games is related to one of the tributes or victors of the previous Hunger Games. This was Chronis’s way of placing me in the Games once again, and I knew that this time would be my last.   
I felt a warm hand touch my shoulder. I turned around to see Eros with a small smile painted on his face.  
Eros placed my black and silver fleece jacket on, and I smiled sadly. Eros decided that the only colors I could wear this year were black and silver. He dressed me in a blank tank top with a silver collar, and a pair of tight fitted black pants. I also wore a pair of long laced boots. He straightened the jacket on my shoulders.  
“Everything is going to be alright.” Eros said looking almost unsure of himself.   
“No, not this time.” I replied knowing that my fate was sealed.  
There twenty-five seconds left on the countdown, and I felt like fainting.   
Eros held a silver pin in his hand with a small dove symbol inside of it. “You can survive this Zara. You are the only hope District 11 has left. You can be the symbol of peace for the people of Panem.” Eros said placing the pin on the inside of my collar.   
“Alright.” I said not knowing what else to say.   
There was fifteen seconds left on the countdown.   
“There is something that I need to tell you.” Eros said with panic in his eyes.  
“What?” I questioned.  
“Nothing, you have to go.” Eros said practically pushing me into the tube.   
I wanted to protest and question him more, but it was too late. There was only ten seconds left and when the tube shut, and I was launched into the air rapidly.   
I did not have time to process Ero’s strange words as the tube launched me into the arena.   
I felt like a weight was sitting on my chest when the tube landed into the arena. I saw all twenty three tributes dressed in similar black attire with their heads pointed towards the Cornucopia. The area around the Cornucopia was covered with tall green grass, and the blazing hot sun almost blinded me.   
I could feel my heart pound against my ribs, and my harsh breaths only made things worse.   
The announcer said there was only five seconds left.   
A young girl who appeared to be around the age of twelve ran off of her launch plate. The girl ran about three feet away from the plate, and before she could take another step, she exploded.   
I knew she must have set off one of the land mines. Blood and flesh splashed onto the tributes that stood on their platforms near the girl, and before anyone could collect themselves, the canon fired, and the countdown ended.   
Instead of standing and waiting on the platform, I decided to run straight towards the weapons. I noticed a few of the tributes decided to stay behind or stand on the outskirts of the Cornucopia. My eyes scanned all of the running tributes, and I did not see anyone I recognized.   
My vision was hazy, and the events unfolding around me were complete chaos.   
I saw a young male get stab through the mouth. I noticed a blond, fair skinned female head was cut off while she was running. A short and overweight male who appeared to be around the age of sixteen was strangled with a bullwhip.   
I tried to block out all the graphic images, and I continued to run toward the closet weapon bag near the forest.   
I was only a few feet away from the weapons when a sharp pain hit the back of my head. I felt like my skull had been slightly mashed in, and I could feel my legs giving out. I feel face first onto the ground, and I could sense a presence above me. The pain caused my head the throb violently, and I allowed the darkness to overtake me.   
Zara POV:  
The tan bull charged toward me and my eyes went wide. I felt Zen grab my arm attempting to pull me out of the way, but I still stood there frozen.   
I heard the faint sound of someone yelling, and I noticed there was someone running behind the bull.   
It was a petite female running frantically behind the bull with a brown rope in her hand.   
The female lifted the rope above her head and moved her wrist in a counterclockwise direction. She swung the rope into the air, and the circle tied onto the rope grabbed the bull’s right horn.   
All of us watched in amazement. I moved out of the way right before the bull could slam into me. The bull jumped up and down and attempted to shake off the rope.   
Zen, Rye, and I continued to back away, and the girl held onto the rope tightly. She tried pull the bull away from us, but she was swept off her feet by the bull’s constant movement. She fell onto her stomach with a loud grunt, and the bull started to run again. The bull dragged her on the ground, and Zen, Rye, and I stared at each other in confusion.   
We jogged behind them, and the girl let go of the rope. She was still lying on her stomach, and Zen ran towards her. Zen attempted to help her off the ground, but she fanned him away.   
Rye and I walked towards them.   
“Are you alright?” Zen asks with a look of genuine concern.  
The girl looked at Zen nonchalantly while she was dusting off her dirt stained clothes.   
“I am fine, there is no need for everyone to come running over here at once.” The girl stated, and I assumed she felt crowded.   
I noticed she had a bronze skin tone, dark brown eyes, shoulder length curly hair, and she was shorter than me, so I assumed she was about five feet and two inches in height. She wore a pair of light blue fitted pants, a tan hat, a tan button down shirt, and a pair of long brown boots.   
“I did not mean to make you uncomfortable, but I just noticed you had nasty fall.” Zen said clearly trying to engage in a conversation.   
“I have had nastier falls, but I am all right.” The girl responded dryly.   
“Well that is great. Now, we should really start moving, so we can be out of this District before it gets dark.” I said walking away with Rye right beside me.   
Zen starts walking away, but then he stops.   
“Wait, I did not get your name?”   
“My name is Alma Pike.”   
“All right, Alma. My name is Zen Moon. I really have to go, but I hope that you will be all right with an aggressive bull on the loose.” Zen said walking backwards.   
“Thanks for your concern, but I was actually leaving.” Alma said placing her hands on her on hips.   
“What do you mean you’re leaving?” I asked looking at Alma.   
“I am headed to Capitol.”   
“Why do you want to go to the Capitol?” I said.   
“I have bigger goals than being out here and chasing cattle to kill. I want to be trained to be in the military, so I help stop some of the corruption in Panem.” Alma said with a determined look on her face.   
“Well, you should come with us.” Zen said with a friendly smile.   
“I am sure Alma was planning on traveling alone, Zen.” I said.   
“Well, thank you mountain man. At least someone sees my point of taking this leap. I hope you can understand the lingo. It kind of comes with the package.” Alma said smiling at Zen.  
“What comes with the package?” Rye asked looking confused.  
“It means me.”  
“I don’t know what you are saying Alma, but as I said before, we should really get going.” I said running out of impatience.   
“Yeah, but when I start walking, you will probably have to catch up.” Alma replied with a smile still on her face.   
“Ok, Alma since you are so fast. Do you know a quicker way out of here?” Rye asked with annoyance clear in his voice.  
“I kind of know the way out of here, but this place is all I know. I ain’t a walking map.” Alma said walking beside Zen.   
“Great, here is the map. Lead the way.” Zen replied enthusiastically while gesturing his hand in front of Alma.  
Alma took the map and studied it for herself. Alma and Zen talked amongst each other, and Rye and I just followed behind.   
Rye interrupted Alma and Zen’s secret conversation. “Alma, Zara and I never got a chance to introduce ourselves.”   
I gazed at Rye in disgust. Our names should never be said together.   
“I know who you are.” Alma stated without turning around.   
“I watched the Hunger Games. It is mandatory for everyone in District 10. I did have my reasons for watching though. That Zander dude was kind of a good incentive. He was like a hot plate, you can’t touch him, but I’m sure Zara knows what I mean.” Alma said turning around and smirking at me.   
I shook my head. “There are no good incentives about the Games. And Zander was only my ally for a short period of time, so I have no idea what you mean.”   
Alma’s smirk faded. “You do know Zander is dead?” I said.   
Rye jumped in. “Yeah, he died in the finale of the Games. Zara killed him.” I narrowed my eyes at Rye.   
Rye just shrugged.   
“Yes I know he died. I feel like since he had less than helpful tributes around him, it was bound to happen.” Alma said glaring at Rye.   
When Alma turned her head around she saw a wild boar with blood shot eyes and horns running toward her. The boar rammed into her side, and Alma fell to the ground. 

Zara POV:   
I lifted my eyelids slowly and my mind stirred with confusion. My vison was hazy, and I tried to remember where I was. The last thing I remember was running in the Cornucopia.  
When my vison cleared, I noticed that I was in the forest. I was surrounded by tall deciduous trees with orange, yellow, and brown leaves. The air around me was cool, and the wind was so breezy it sent chills down my spine. I realized the season in the Games must be autumn. Someone that was not in my situation would have said the scenery was beautiful.   
I heard the sound of leaves rustling behind me, and I turned around to see Zen leaning against a tree. He was dressed in a short sleeved black shirt, a pair of fitted black pants, and brown short boots. He apparently favored to the color brown.   
“Where did you come from?” I asked wondering how he just appeared behind me.   
“I climbed down this tree.” Zen said leaning off the tree.   
Zen was truly strange. “It is a good hiding place, is it not?” Zen asked in a matter of fact way.  
“Yes, maybe if you were blind or unconscious like I was.” I said and the ache in my head returned.   
I rubbed my head, and Zen just stared at me. “You were hit on the back of the head by one of the female tributes. I saw her when she attacked you, but you do not have to worry, I handled her. After I was done wrestling her, I carried you out here. Do you feel a lot of pressure in the back of your head?”  
“I don’t know. My whole head hurts.” I said not wanting to complain.  
“If you have any dizziness, confusion, or nausea you may have a concussion.” Zen said and I could see the concern in his eyes.  
He walked toward me, and I backed away. “It does not matter. Whatever happened, the damage has been done.”  
“Where is Rye?” I said looking away from Zen.  
“I don’t know. I just ran straight toward the weapons. I picked up a crossbow for my weapon, and then I grabbed a weapon bag. I did not even see Rye. Not like I was looking for him or anything.” Zen said with a shrug.   
“I am honestly not surprised. He is probably dead.” I replied with no emotion in my voice.   
Zen nodded. “Luckily for you, I have a sickle weapon in my bag.” Zen said handing me the sickle. I just realized that I did not have a weapon or a bag.   
“Thanks.” I replied taking the weapon. I turned around to walk away because it would feel awkward to say goodbye.   
Zen started to walk behind me. “So, I guess you are following me now.” I said without turning around.  
Zen walked in front of me. “Zara, we are from the same District which automatically means we should be allies.” Zen said walking backwards in front of me.   
“To you maybe, but there can only be one winner to this year’s Games. I hate to break it to you Zen, but I think we should go our separate ways.”   
“I watched you in the Games last year, I know that you need my help. I don’t care how you feel Zara, I am not going to just abandon you.” Zen said staring into my eyes.   
I looked into his hazel almond shaped eyes, and I just wanted to push him away.   
“I do not care either Zen. What do I have to loose when we both are going to die anyway.” I said walking past him quickly.   
We walked father into the forest, and I started to notice a lot of changes. The forest was no longer autumn themed, and the air was no longer cool. The further we moved, the hotter and humid the weather became. The heat became suffocating and unbearable, but it reminded me of something. It reminded me of home.   
The scenery in the forest was no longer beautiful. The trees looked worn out, and the leaves seem to wither away. Zen and I stopped when we arrived at a large field of wheat.   
The yellowish brown wheat height reached from my feet to the center of my leg. The field was wide, and the sun shined down brightly onto the tall wheat. Zen started to walk through the wheat.   
“Where are you going?” I asked stepping into the field.   
“We can crossover to the other side of the forest by walking through the field.” Zen said, and I felt like I had no other choice but to follow him.   
We continued to cross the field until I noticed swift movement a few feet away from us.   
“Did you see that?” Zen asked.   
“Yes I am not blind.” I said looking him in the eye.   
Zen gave me an accusing look. Then he just shook off the animosity.   
“We have to keep moving.” He said grabbing my arm.   
Something moved right in front of Zen’s feet, and we both stopped.   
“Zen.”   
“Let’s just stay where we are.” Zen said holding me back.   
Our movement ceased, and I could hear myself breathing heavily. I heard a grunting sound beside me, and suddenly I was swept of my feet.   
Katniss POV:  
I lifted my eyelids slowly, and I felt like I was waking from a decade of sleep.   
The room felt like it was spinning, and I could feel myself drifting in and out of consciousness. I tried to focus on my surroundings.   
I am in a room. I am in a room made of glass walls. The ceiling and the floor is made of glass.   
I thought to myself.  
I looked down and noticed that my hands and feet were both chained to a chair made of steel. The chair was mounted to the wall in the back of the room. On the other end of the room was a clear flat television screen.   
My eyes widen, and I struggled to move in the chair. I felt a warm presence beside me, and I turned around to see Peeta.   
He was still asleep.   
“Peeta. Peeta!” I choked out, and I did not realize how hoarse my voice was.   
My throat felt like it was stuffed with rocks and sand.   
“Peeta, you have to wake up.” I said trying to reach out to him. He sat only a few inches away from me.   
Peeta eyes moved rapidly under his lids until he finally opened his eyes. He blinked heavily several times before he finally came back to reality.   
“Peeta.” I said feeling relieved he was awake.   
“Katniss.” Peeta tried to reach me, but the chains were connected to the arms of the chair. There were heavy metal cuffs on our wrists and our ankles.   
Peeta gazed around the room in confusion.  
“Wha…”   
Before Peeta could say anything the television flashed on.   
It was President Chronis on the screen dressed in a white suit with a white rose pinned on his jacket.   
“Well hello, Mr. and Mrs. Mellark. It has been to long since the last time I saw you. Well, too long for you anyway.” He said with a usual menacing smile.  
“What is that supposed mean?” I snapped.  
“My apologies. I am just skipping ahead in my introduction.”   
“I am sure you both recognize this area. Especially you Mr. Mellark.”   
“This is the one of the many prisons my grandfather used to torture you in. Surely, you have not forgotten.”   
Peeta gritted his teeth together using all his willpower not to speak.   
“But it is no matter now. You are both here for a reason greater than the past. I am sure you are wondering about you children’s well-being right now. Especially your son Rye. I was hit with an overwhelming amount of concern, when he passed out at my brother’s funeral. Don’t fret, I have been keeping a very watchful eye on him this past year. Which reminds me of something.” Chronis seemed to be in deep thought, and I tried not to cringe.   
“Neither of you have any recollection of this, but a year has passed since your son won the Games. Every day for an entire year both of you have been drugged with a healthy dose of Doxepin. Even with the dose of Doxepin both of you still went in and out of consciousness several times, so this is not my first greeting.” Chronis said lifting one of his brows.   
“What did you mean when you said you kept a watchful eye on Rye?” Peeta said speaking clearly for the first time.   
“Well, I guess I owe you an explanation. After you two were separated from your son and taken here, I made sure Rye was sent back home to District 12. I sent two of the Capitol’s finest doctors with him. They performed kidney surgery and against my will, they gave him my brother’s kidney. According to the doctors, Zander was the only match. After the surgery was over, I ordered the doctors to keep Rye in a medically induced coma for a year. I needed him well rested for this moment.” Chronis stated.  
“What moment?” I said feeling and overwhelming amount of anger and emotion.   
“I assume you realize that it is time for another annual Hunger Games. This year the rules are more drastic than ever before. This year I decided that all of the tributes in the Games must be related to one of the former Hunger Games victors or tributes. Unlike last year, there must be only one winner. The arena is the biggest arena all of Panem has ever seen.”   
I looked down at the cuffs on my wrist. I could not stare at the screen any longer and neither could Peeta.   
Our son was in the Games again. Our pride and joy’s life was in danger once again, and there was nothing we could do about it.   
“I will not leave his parents out of the equation because both of you will watch Rye in the Games. Every day you get to see your son, until you are finally forced to watch him die. It is such a sad situation, imagine how I felt when Zander died. The events that keep unfolding almost remind me of a domino effect. When one horrible event occurs, it sets off a chain of unfortunate events.”   
All of the information was hard to swallow at once and I closed my eyes. I took a deep breath, and then I opened my eyes and looked at the screen again.   
“What about our daughter Willow? Is she all right?” I asked wanting to know if one of my children were safe.   
Chronis appeared like he was trying to hide a smile. “I know that I have provided an immense amount of information in one day, so I will allow you to mold over everything. Until we meet again.”  
The screen flashed off.   
Peeta and I both exchanged worried looks.   
“Everything is going to be all right. We are going to find a way out of here, and our family will be together again. We have been through worse.” Peeta said trying to reassure me. I think he mostly need to convince himself.   
“I hope your right.” I said trying to prevent from breaking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: First of all, yay the 112th Hunger Games. I know all of the readers will be confused. Hahaha. The journey has started as well and the new character Alma has arrived. My older sister writes for the character Alma, so I cannot be held accountable for her actions. Lastly, Katniss and Peeta have joined the party as well.   
> I do not really have a song for this chapter. I heard this song a few weeks ago, and I feel like it really matches President Chronis. The song is called Counting bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums by A Perfect Circle. I am not a big fan of rock music, but I heard this watching a TVD fandom video. If you are a fan of any TV show villains than I am sure they have a video with the song. (I do not know for sure.)


	7. Chapter 7

If the sky that we look upon  
Should tumble and fall  
All the mountains should crumble to the sea  
I won’t cry, I won’t cry  
No, I won’t shed a tear  
Just as long as you stand, stand by me.  
Stand by Me by Ben E. King  
Krios Floros POV:  
I wiped the sweat off my wrinkled forehead while I walked through the streets of the Capitol. I placed my black, thick framed eye glasses on and listened to Nicholas’s message.   
“Good morning my fellow Gamemakers, and I am referring to you as well Krios. I wanted to contact all of you because I am less than pleased with the events that have taken place in the Games.”  
“But the Games just started.” I said tempted to delete the message.   
“I am aware that the Games has just began, but if boredom from the Hunger Games continues to plague my mind I hope some of you find being burned alive gratifying.” Nicholas stated and I laughed at his empty threat.   
“You know the plan Krios. We outlined what was supposed to unfold earlier this year. You know me better than anyone, and I do not think you want to betray me this time. With that being said, I hope all of the Gamemakers can make this Hunger Games more interesting otherwise there will be consequences.” Nicholas said and the recording stopped.   
Nicholas normally said some form of goodbye, but the recording just ended abruptly.   
I sighed and removed my glasses. I walked for about five minutes until I finally arrived at the gold painted gates in front of my house. I lived in a first class gated community not far away from the President’s mansion. My home had twenty five bedrooms, ten bedrooms, and twelve other unnecessary rooms.  
My home was always empty. One reason was because my daughter Iris died in last year’s Games, and the other reason was because my wife lived in our second home in District 1.   
I placed my glasses on my mahogany dining room table, and I walked toward elevator across from the spiral stairway. I placed my fingerprint on the touchscreen button and the glass elevator doors immediately opened. Once I stepped onto the elevator, I pressed the button labeled attic so I could be transported to the third and final floor.   
The elevator quickly moved towards the third floor, and I stepped off the elevator hesitantly. I suddenly felt a foreign feeling of anxiety and sweat began to drip from my forehead again.   
I gazed at the room at the end of the hallway and my feet began to move unconsciously. Once I arrived at the narrow doorway of the attic, I knocked on the door twice. It was a part of a secret code that I established a while ago.   
The door opened halfway with a loud creaking noise. I pushed the door open further, and I was unsure what I was up against.   
I saw a pale figure lying on the king sized bed in the corner of the room. The person was staring at the ceiling, and I realized how dark the room was. The only light in the room was the sun shining through the window beside the bed. I was about to turn the light on when my quick reflexes kicked in. I saw a small knife flying towards my head, and I ducked quickly. I accidently shut the door behind me, and the knife fell onto the floor with a loud clinging noise.   
When I recovered from my shock I tried to compose myself.   
“Well, good morning to you too.” I said trying to shed some light on the situation.  
“Keep the light off.” The person said with a harsh expression.  
“You know it’s dangerous for you to sit in a dark room all day. It’s bad for your eyes.” I said.  
“Why are you here?” The person asked clearly agitated.   
“I live here.” I said tried of the bullshit.   
“Besides I wanted to check on you especially now.” I said hinting at something.   
“If this is about what I think it is, I don’t give a shit. I stopped giving a shit a while ago.” The person said. I shook my head at the disaster before me.  
“So just like that you’re giving up.” I said disappointed.  
“What else do I have to lose?” The person replied dryly.   
“Everything. You have everything to lose. If you really want to know why I am here today I’ll tell you. There is a storm coming, and I am going to need your help if you want to defeat the dragon once and for all.” I said keeping my word.  
The person rose from the bed and walked toward me.   
“Just like that, huh.” The person replied.   
“Just like that.” I said prepared for a fight.   
“Fine, but if your plan fails and Panem is left in ruins, I won’t hesitate to bring you down with it.” The person said before reaching down and picking up the knife beside my feet.   
I stood in place frozen like a statue. The person stared at me briefly like I was a pathetic piece of waste, and they sat back down on the bed.   
After several minutes past, I finally worked up enough courage to exit the attic.   
Zara POV:   
District 10  
Alma yelled in pain while the wild boar was about to leap on top of her.   
The wild boar appeared to be a mix of a bull and a boar. I assumed it was about 300 pounds in size and about nine feet long. The bull boar had dark brown colored fur and small crazed eyes.   
Before the bull boar could jump onto Alma’s body she rolled over, and then she stood on her two feet. When the bull boar charged at her again she flipped over it.   
All of us were so distracted watching Alma, we did not even realize a group of around ten bull boars were charging towards us.   
The bull boars snorted and grunted, and before I could runaway one of them swept me off of my feet.   
I roll onto my back and the bull boar stood above me. One of its long horns were about to stab me in the eye, so I grabbed onto both of its horns trying to hold it back. The bull boar fought against me aggressively, and I almost loss control of the wild animal.   
I looked over at Rye and Zen who were surrounded around the boars while Alma was wrestling against two at the same time. I noticed Rye searching through his bag until he finally pulled out a straight edge knife.  
“Alma!” Rye shouted. Alma stopped wrestling two boars and Rye threw the knife at Alma. One of the bull boar’s leaped toward Alma and she stabbed it through the mouth.   
I suddenly remembered the knife I grabbed out of the kitchen in the Hall of Justice in District 11. I held onto one of the boar’s horns, and I lifted the bottom of my shirt with the other hand. I pulled the knife out of my pants, and I almost let go of the boar’s horn. I held up the knife and the boar squealed like a pig almost. I stabbed the boar in its right eye and blood splashed onto my chest.   
I dropped the bull boar on the ground beside me, and I looked over to see Rye trying to shoot the remaining five boars with a bow and arrow. One of Rye’s stray arrows almost shot Alma in the foot.   
Alma shot Rye a death glare while she backed away from the remaining bull boars.   
Zen almost looked agitated.   
“Let me see this.” Zen said almost snatching the bow and arrows from Rye.   
Zen held onto the bow tightly and he had a focused expression on his face. Zen narrowed his eyes and shot all five of the bull boars without hesitation.   
All of the bull boars fell dead without putting up a fight.  
Zen took a death breath, and we all looked at each other in silence.   
“What was that?” Rye said unexpectedly.  
“What do you mean?” Zen said calmly.   
“You just lost your shit for a second.” Rye said with no guilt.  
“Really Rye.” I replied knowing he was just jealous.  
Rye shrugged.   
“I don’t know. I just did what I had to do.” Zen said walking off with the bow and arrows still in his hands.   
We all watched him walk away, and I noticed Alma drying the blood from her hands with a handkerchief. I graciously took the handkerchief from her hands, so I can wipe the blood from my chest. After I wiped myself clean of the boar’s blood, we decided to follow behind Zen since he was the one with the map.   
Zara POV:   
The Hunger Games  
I felt a dull pain hit my chest when my body crashed onto the ground. I flipped my body over, and I saw two wild boars charging towards me. I was about to pull my sickle weapon from my belt, but Zen shot the two boars with his crossbow.   
Five more boars with the head of a bull charged towards us, and Zen shot them without any hesitation.   
I rose from the ground, and Zen and I both searched our surroundings.   
Several minutes passed and we waited for something horrible to happen.  
“That’s it.” Zen said with a shocked expression on his face.   
“I guess so.” I replied casually.   
“Great, let’s keep moving.” Zen said gesturing his head toward the end of the wheat field.   
Zen and I walked out of the wheat field and back into the forest. We walked until the sky was dark and the bugs were hissing.  
“I think we have walked far enough. We can hide in this tree until the sun is up.” Zen said throwing a part of the crossbow into his bag and placing the bag over his shoulder.   
“I don’t know how to climb trees.” I said gazing at the tall tree.   
“That is strange. How can you be a citizen of District 11 and not know how climb trees?” Zen said and I could tell he was trying to judge me for my lack of talent.   
“Easy. They used to force us to climb trees in the apple orchard, but when I was a kid I used to fall out of the tree. I think that’s one reason why they allowed us to use ladders.” I said and Zen nodded in understanding.  
Zen walked toward the tree, and he demonstrated how to properly climb it. Once he was done with his demonstration, he jumped down from the tree.   
“Now, it is your turn. Here I will help you.” He said picking me up without my permission.   
“Zen!” I yelled taken off guard.   
Zen placed me on the tree properly, and I climbed it better than I expected. One reason was to get away from him.  
Once I arrived at the first tree branch, I moved onto it carefully. I looked down and noticed Zen climbed the tree quickly like a deranged monkey. Zen climbed onto a tree limb about three feet away from me. The limb was right across and slightly above mine.   
“It’s strange how we have not seen one tribute.” Zen said.  
“Maybe their hiding from us.” I said looking up at Zen.   
Zen chuckled and all of a sudden six canon’s fired.   
I looked over at Zen and he raised his brows. I stood on my tree branch prepared to climb down.   
I heard the sound of feet stomping on the ground.   
I could hear swift movement, and I leaned against the tree for support.   
The noise got louder and louder until I finally saw a brawny male with peach colored skin and rustic brown, wavy hair.   
I remembered the male’s name from his Hunger Games interview. His name was Cain Odair and he was from District 4.   
Cain ran past the tree that Zen and I stood on, and right behind him was Rye and a female with long, brunette hair.   
I was surprised to see Rye alive, but I quickly recovered from my shock once the stomping noise increased. I finally saw an entire herd of ostriches with black feathers covering their heads and necks running on the ground.  
I held onto the tree tighter to prevent from falling.   
“Just hold on, Zara.” I heard Zen say over the noise.   
I looked up to see more ostriches flying in the air headed directly for our tree. 

Zara POV:  
District 10   
We continued to walk through District 10 and it felt like the woods would never end. After what felt like hours we arrived at District 10’s fence. The sky was dark, and I gazed at District 10’s fence in uncertainty.   
“Is the fence turned on?” I asked directing my question to Alma.  
“I think we should get somebody to test the theory. Any volunteer’s, Rye?” Alma said smirking at Rye.   
Rye looked unamused.   
“No, the fence is never turned off at night since all of the animals are asleep.” Alma said.  
I picked up a rock and threw it at the fence. Nothing happened. “Well I guess the fence is not on.” I replied.  
“No, that is not an accurate way to determine if an electric fence is on. Inanimate objects can’t detect electricity.” Zen said and I looked at him like he was crazy.   
“You have to spit on it.” Zen said walking toward the fence.   
I closed my eyes and I heard the sound of his spit hit the fence. Zen’s spit was more disgusting than the smell of dead bodies.   
“You were right, the fence is off.” Zen replied simply and we lifted the bottom of the wired fence one by one.   
Once we all crossed under the rustic fence, Zen pulled the map out of his uniform pocket.   
“What is our current destination?” Zen said above the map.   
The map showed a picture of a forest, shacks, fields of wheat and a large number of factories. We all observed the map and tried to figure out what was the best direction to take to arrive in District 8.   
Zen studied the map intensely, and he determined the safest path to take is through the forest.   
After walking for about half an hour, an overwhelming amount of exhaustion took over my body. My head had been throbbing all day and the pain only continued to get worse.   
“I need a break.” I said not wanting to complain.   
“I thought you wanted to be in the Capitol by tomorrow.” Rye said and I tried to block out his stupidity.   
“Yes I did Rye, so I can be away from you.” I said feeling to tired too be angry.   
“Listen, crust you know we won’t be in the Capitol by tomorrow.” Alma said and Rye looked over at Alma like he did not know who she was referring to.   
“Zara is right, we have been on our feet all day. We should all get some rest.” Zen said trying to sound logical.   
“Good, at least someone agrees with me.” I said gazing from Zen to Rye. Zen smiled lightly, and Alma looked nauseated.   
“I will go find some firewood.” Zen said.   
“I’ll come help.” Alma said jogging toward Zen.   
Alma and Zen both walked away leaving Rye and I to stand in an awkward silence.   
Several minutes later, Zen and Alma returned with arms full of wood.   
Alma was holding one log while Zen had three. I heard them both bickering with each other when they were several feet away.   
Alma looked annoyed. “Where I am from girls can carry at least their own weight.”   
“You are lucky I allowed you to carry one log, Pike.” Zen said and Alma mumbled something to herself.   
Zen and Alma approached us holding the logs. “I am not one of the weakling females here.” Alma said looking over at me.   
“I may not be the strongest physically, but I have to be strong emotionally and mentally. Clearly that is something that you would never comprehend. You could never survive the trauma I face on a daily basis.” I said looking at Alma.   
“You never know what you could manage to cope with until you are in the situation.” Alma said still trying to pick a fight with me.   
“That may be true, but that is one reason why you never lived a life like mine. Burdens are placed on those who are strong enough to carry them. You’re obviously delusional and you don’t know the first thing about pain.” I replied trying to keep calm.   
“Well, all I know is I am starving.” Rye replied abruptly.   
I narrowed my eyes at Rye, and Alma just shook her head.   
After we recovered from Rye’s interruption, Zen sat the three logs on the ground while Rye and I gathered some nearby tree limbs into a pile.   
Rye lit two of the matches from his bag and threw them onto the pile of tree limbs. The fire burned brightly, and we all sat on our own logs around the fire.  
Rye opened his bag again, and he pulled out two pieces of dried deer meat and one slice of battered bread. Alma’s mouth dropped. Zen seemed unfazed by Rye’s rudeness.   
Rye tore a piece of meat and a bread crumb. I watched him as he almost swallowed it whole. Rye was about to pull his jug of water out of his bag, but he stopped and stared at all of us.   
“What?” He asked completely oblivious to his mistake.   
“Clearly your parents did not teach you any manors.” I said looking away from him.   
“You want some.” Rye said placing a piece of dried deer meat near my mouth.   
“No. I don’t eat dried deer meat.” I said moving away from Rye.   
Rye just shrugged.   
“Well, I am not carrying anybody, so you might want to eat up.” Alma stated trying to hide her annoyance.   
“I will take my chances.” I protested.   
“Did you two want some?” Rye asked and Alma and Zen both accepted the food Rye offered.   
Rye pulled out his bottle of water and his battered bread. He gave a slice to Zen and Alma.   
“Alma is right, you need to keep your strength up Zara. Protein helps your wounds heal. Proteins are used to build and repair tissues in your body. You could at least try eating a piece.” Zen reasoned.   
I sighed. “Fine. I will eat a slice of bread and water.” I said snatching a piece of bread from Rye. Then I swallowed a mouth full of water.   
Alma looked lost in thought as she ate a piece of deer meat. “Not to share a sob story, but I do know a thing or two about losing people I care about Zara. I lost my parents to a bacterial infection caused by a parasite called Cryptosporidium. It was caused by them ingesting unclean meat six years ago. That’s when I started working as a ranch hand to support myself, and I earned very little money for it. Having no family made me grow up faster.” Alma said randomly.   
“Then you should understand what I mean. I really do sympathize with you Alma, but you still did not survive the Hunger Games. I still have flashbacks from the Games. Every day I close my eyes I can see the image of the people who died in the Games. Every day I have to carry the guilt that in some way I am responsible for their deaths. Nothing compares to that.”  
“Leave it to Zara to make competition out of heartache or troubled life stories. I’m not trying to make this a competition. Rye must have drugged her bread. I know I don’t talk like this on a regular basis.”   
“I’m not usually the type to say sharing is caring.” Alma said with a forced chuckle.   
“I am not either. I just want justice and peace for everyone.” I said tried of the false judgement from Alma.   
Zen cut in. “In your own way, both of you are right. But now is not the time to reflect on these things. We are all traveling to the Capitol for one particular purpose, we may have our own reasons, but we have the same goals. It has been a long day, and I think it’s time to get some rest.” Zen said with a stern look in his eyes.   
I nodded, and Rye was the first one to jump up from his log.   
I slowly lifted my sore and aching body from the log. I went off into my on corner near a tree while Alma laid down on a spot about ten feet away from me. Zen laid down near a tree on the other side of the fire, and Rye was the last person to lie down. Rye walked over to me, and he sat down in a spot about four feet away from me.   
When Rye sat down he scooted closer to me, and we were only about two feet away from each other. I shot him a death glare, and he still did not move. When he laid down and closed his eyes, and I decided to scoot over around five feet away from him.  
After I moved away from Rye, I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep. My mind was all over the place, and for some reason my brain would not shut down. After what felt like several agonizing hours, I finally fell asleep.   
Flashback/dream   
I could feel it. I knew deep down when I saw the door missing from the house that something was wrong. I entered Taro’s home, and the only light in the house came from the sunlight shining through the windows.   
The loud clanging noise that rang in my ears ceased and I saw a man. A very dark skin, malnutrition man was crouched down on the floor. He was sitting beside the only bed in the small shack. The man looked possessed. He had gray protruding eyes and there was blood dripping from his lips to his chin. He was holding a moldy pan in his lap, and I noticed the pan contained pieces of human brain. I covered my nose from the rotting smell. I looked away from the man and I saw small bones, and half eaten flesh from different sized legs and arms. There was hair and pieces of torn skin all over the floor. I assumed those were the remains of Taro’s siblings. I backed away from the man slowly because I knew he could attack at any moment. The man snarled at me like a wild animal, and I turned around and ran. I ran out of the doorway and back into the chaos that was occurring between the infected citizens. I could hear the man growling behind me, but I continued running. None of the Peacekeepers paid me any attention. They were too busy burning people alive, shooting them through the head, and throwing their bodies into trenches. I ran all the way home, and I did not look back.   
End of Dream.   
My eyes shot open. I could feel the tears brimming, but as usual no water escaped my eyes.   
“Nightmares.” Rye said and I realized he was now lying about three feet away from me.   
“No.” I replied dryly.  
“Well I have nightmares. Ever since the Games, I have these recurring dreams about losing someone I care about. I finally understand what my parents meant about the Games and everything.” Rye said looking up at the stars in the night sky.   
“Your nightmares about losing people you care about is my reality. I have not stopped thinking about Taro since the day he died. I held his hand as he slowly slipped away, and I made him a promise that I knew I could not keep. He made me vow to look after his very young and helpless siblings if I won the Games. Once I arrived back home from Zander’s funeral, I found body parts of Taro’s siblings scattered on the floor of his home. They were eaten by some cannibalistic man who was obviously starving to death. I know it’s bad to say, but the man did me a favor. I honestly, believe no child is safe under my watch or guardianship.” I said aware of how selfish I sounded.   
“What makes you say that?” Rye asked with a little light in his eyes.  
“Because I only look out for myself, and I will never have kids. I will die before anything like that happens to me.” I said and Rye looked down at my feet.  
“Oh ok.” He said awkwardly.   
There was a long moment of silence between us.   
“That’s what I was dreaming about. I was dreaming about Taro’s dead siblings and almost getting eaten alive. I have dreams about that every night now. You would think that after a year has passed, it would become like a distant memory but no. I feel like I’m being plagued or taunted somehow.” I said staring at the night sky.  
“I still have flashbacks of cutting Thane’s head off in the Games. I was dying from being stabbed. Thane was about to kill you, so I cut his head off.”   
Rye said and I looked over at him. He did not look back at me, and I hoped he was not expecting me to thank him. I never realized he saved my life.   
“I think that there are something’s that people just cannot erase. No matter how hard we try, we will live with these haunting thoughts for the rest of our lives.” Rye replied lost in thought.   
“Wow. That was deep Rye.” I said placing my head on my hands.   
Rye turned over onto his side so he could face me.   
“Thanks.”  
“Coming from you anyway.” I said with a light laugh.  
We both stared at each other in silence. For a brief moment, I wondered if either of us could survive this.   
“I wonder what is happening to my parents. I already lost Willow. I cannot lose them too. Rye said with his dough eyes still boring into mine.   
“You shouldn’t think like that.” I said understanding what he meant.   
“That’s easier said than done. I can’t help but feel like, like whatever happens to them is… is-  
“Is my fault.” I spat out. “What? No. I was going to say I feel like it’s my fault.”  
“Why would you say it was your fault?” Rye asked suspiciously.   
“Because I feel responsible for every bad thing that happens. I think all of this is happening because Chronis wants revenge for me killing Zander. Every person that dies blood is on my hands.” I said with no visible emotion in my eyes.  
“You shouldn’t think like that.” Rye said obviously repeating what I said a few minutes ago. I was surprised he was even listening.   
Rye supported his head on his hand while both our bodies faced each other. Rye moved closer to me slowly and suddenly there was no space left between us. His body was leaning over mine, and I was more than tempted to back away. He gazed into my eyes intensely, and I was wondering could he sense my disgust.   
I thought about taking my knife and stabbing him, but I knew I would not take care of his stab wound.   
“What?” I whispered hoping that he would stop staring at me or just go away.  
Rye smiled lightly and he leaned his face over mine. Our lips were only inches apart when I heard a loud thumping sound hit the back of Rye’s head.  
Rye turned around swiftly to see Alma with red crazed eyes. I moved away from Rye.   
“Keep the rift raft down. I am trying to sleep.” Alma whispered harshly.   
Rye’s eyes widen, and I saw a dark nine foot shadow creeping behind Alma.   
“Did I stutter?” Alma said rising off the ground.   
Rye rose from the ground and started to back away.  
“Alma.” I said as calm as possible.  
“What!” Alma said with her arms crossed.   
“Look behind you.” Rye stated nervously.   
Alma whipped her head around swiftly.   
“Oh.” Alma replied and I could hear the fear in her voice.   
There was an animal around nine feet tall, with a long thin neck, a small head, wide black eyes, a long beak, slender legs, and large black wings. The creature appeared to be an ostrich. The ostrich slowly crept closer to Alma.   
The ostrich spread its wings, and a piercing hiss erupted from its mouth. 

AN: Well, I honestly don’t know where to start. This chapter was all over the place. I think this was the longest chapter I have ever written. The song for this chapter is Stand by Me by Ben E. King. If you have not heard the song listen to it please. I prefer the cover by Imagine Dragons.   
I have not updated this story for a couple of months because of school. Unfortunately, I made a disappointing grade in math, so I am a little traumatized. I hope my trauma does not reflect in my writing. I am a little out of touch with this story because it’s been so long since I wrote anything for it.   
Once again, I am aware that this story is getting even more confusing. First of all, who is the person at the beginning of this chapter? Secondly, all I can say is my sister writes for Alma. I can’t say whether she is real or not. Unknown fact: Alma is twenty and her parents died when she was 14. ALSO I DICUSSED SOME OF ZARA’S FLASHBACK/DREAM IN THE FIRST CHAPTER.  
I am positive that a big question will get answered in the next chapter. So stay tuned!! It’s been a hectic couple of months for me, so it would me a lot to me if got some feedback for this chapter!!! Thanks for reading.


	8. Chapter 8

“I’m gonna fly like a bird through the night, feel my tears as they dry.” –Sia, Chandelier  
Zara POV:  
Hunger Games  
I looked over at Zen who was aiming his crossbow at the flying ostriches, and I did not know which direction to turn.   
I wanted to climb down from the tree or jump down, but I knew that was impossible.   
Zen started shooting at the ostriches headed towards us, and I leaned my back against the tree bark hoping that he would not accidently shoot me.   
Zen shot around six of the approaching ostriches and more continued to fly near us.   
“It’s like they are multiplying.” I said and Zen did not respond. It was too many for him to shoot at one time, and I decided that I had to jump.   
I gazed down at the ground, and I saw a herd of ostriches that reminded me of vultures running beneath us.   
The tree branch I stood on was about thirty five feet above the ground, and I assumed I could jump without breaking any bones.   
Regardless, it was a risk I was willing to take. I crouched down on the strong tree branch, and I closed my eyes and jumped.   
The strong wind from my fall took my breath away and before I could catch my breath my body hit a warm and solid surface. I could feel something smooth beneath me. It felt like I was sitting on a body. A body with feathers.   
I opened my eyes and saw that I was sitting on the ostrich mutant’s back. The ostrich vulture stopped running and began to squawk repeatedly.   
The bird spread its black wings, and I grasped onto its thin neck. The bird began to fly while stretching out its long legs.   
It flew about twenty feet into the air, and I was having a difficult time holding on. The bird twirled its body around, and I instantly feel off of its back. The other ostrich vulture continued to stampede around me, and I tried to cover my face. The ostrich mutants squawked above me but none of them seemed to pay me any attention while they ran around me.   
All of the herd finally ran passed me. For a moment I felt relieved until I remembered something.   
“Zen.” I said remembering the last time I saw him.  
I walked toward the area with several dead ostrich mutants lying on the ground. I noticed that there was a human body lying on the ground, and I ran towards it.  
It was Zen’s body lying beside the tree that we climbed. I knelt beside his body. His long dark brown hair was covering his face, so I brushed his hair out of the way.   
I saw that he had scratches, and bleeding holes on his flawless tan face. The birds must have pecked at his face and he fell out of the tree. I thought.   
I brushed my hand over his surprisingly soft skin and suddenly I heard screaming.   
Cain Odair ran out past one of the nearby trees with two ostriches trailing behind.  
It sounded like a female’s scream. I could hear squawking sounds again, and I noticed Zen’s crossbow was sitting a few feet away from his body.   
I grabbed the crossbow, and I stared at the area of the forest where I heard the noise.   
I could see Cain Odair running with two ostriches trailing behind him. I lifted the crossbow and waited for the ostriches to come closer.   
I aimed at the two ostriches and shot the arrows not caring if one of them hit Cain. One of the ostriches fell dead and I continued shooting.   
“Oh Shit.” I heard Cain curse and he ran out of the way. I shot the remaining ostrich through the head, and Rye and the female ran towards Cain.   
Rye and the female both seemed out of breath. Once they finally caught their breath, I noticed Rye looking in my direction.   
“Zara?” Rye said walking toward me. The female and Cain followed behind him.  
“I thought you were dead.” Rye said with his eyes wide from shock.  
“You cannot get rid of me that easy.” I said and the female rolled her eyes.   
“I guess I should introduce myself.” The female said stepping in front of Rye. I saw she had violet colored eyes, long dark brown hair, and pale skin. Her hair was longer than mine.   
“My name is Loni Eads, and I am from District 4 like Cain.” She said folding her arms across her chest.   
“Ok, my name is..  
“Your name is Zara Fitin. As if half of Panem does not already know that.” Loni stated and I wondered what her problem was.   
“Of course you wouldn’t have it any other way. Would you?” Loni questioned and I was completely confused.   
“Pardon?” I said and Cain stepped in front of Loni.   
“Don’t pay her any attention Zara. We all know she is not going too last long.” Cain said rubbing the bottom of my arm. I slapped his hand away.   
“Well, it’s been nice meeting with you three, but if don’t mind I am kind of occupied.” I said looking down at Zen’s still body. His chest was moving up and down, so I knew he was alive.  
Rye stood beside his body. I looked down at Rye’s arm. He had a long and deep gash from his elbow to his wrist. The gash contained dried blood, and I hoped that was the reason it was turning black.   
“What happened to your arm?” I said looking down at the gash.   
“What? Oh, I was cut by one of the younger tributes in the Cornucopia.” Rye said completely dismissing the gash.   
“Is that-  
Rye stated pointing to Zen’s body.   
“Yes, that is Zen Moon from my District.” I said and I could feel an aching pain return to my chest.   
Zara POV:  
District 9  
The loud noise coming from the mutant’s mouth woke Zen up from his deep sleep. Zen jumped up while the Ostrich still focused on Alma. Zen picked up his bow and arrow that was lying on the ground, and several ostriches walked out of the darkness. We were surrounded by the mutants.   
Alma stopped backing away from the ostrich vulture when she almost bumped into the burning fire. Zen aimed his bow and arrow at the giant ostrich’s back trying not to shoot Alma.   
I pulled out the knife I stole from the Hall of Justice, and Rye stood behind me. Zen shot the ostrich in the back and all of the ostrich’s that surrounded us ran towards us.   
Rye took off, and I managed to stab a few of them with my knife. Once the ostriches that tried to attack me were weakened or dead, I decided to run away.   
I did not know if Alma and Zen were following me, but I continued to run anyway. I ran as fast as my legs would take me, and I could see Rye running several feet in front of me.   
I saw arrows flying beside me. I was trying to duck and run at the same time. Rye was still running several feet ahead of me until he stumbled over a tree branch. I considered leaving him to get pecked to death by the ostrich vultures, but instead I grabbed his arm and helped him off the ground.   
While Rye was taking his precious time getting off the ground, I turned around and saw Zen and Alma running towards us with the ostriches trailing behind them.   
Rye finally stood on his feet, and I took off running. The ostriches were making deep squawking noises continuously. I tried to ignore it.  
The squawking stopped eventually, and I heard a loud booming noise. I turned around to see the ostriches exploding one by one. Rye, Zen, and Alma ran beside me, and we all tried to avoid the blood, feathers, and organs flying into the air.   
We all increased our speed. I knew I would pass out if I continued running. We all turned to see the ostriches were no longer chasing us, and I fell to my knees.   
My heart was racing and I took several deep breaths. I was dizzy, and it felt like my legs were on fire.   
Rye started coughing while Alma leaned against a tree.   
Zen just cleared his throat.  
I assumed after some the ostrich vultures blew up, the rest of them must have flew away. Zen pulled out the map to see where we were located.   
The bottom of the map said District 8 and it showed images of factories, a clock tower, and other buildings.   
“We are in District 8.” Zen stated.  
“Did they get rid of their fence?” Rye asked obviously confused.  
“They must have got rid of the fence and decided to implant landmines underground to prevent people from leaving.” Zen explained.   
“We must have set off the landmines.” Rye said putting the pieces together.   
I got off the ground and began walking not caring if any of them followed behind me. I eventually heard footsteps behind me, and I still did not turn around.   
The sky was dark when we first began moving but then the morning sun started to rise. My body was damp with sweat from the intense humidity, but I used my willpower to continue moving.   
The sun eventually disappeared and the sky turned dark and cloudy.   
“A storm is coming.” Zen said as he walked ahead of me.   
“Well, we should continue moving until then.” I said determined to get closer to our destination.   
Zen all of sudden halted his footsteps, and I wondered what was the next disaster.   
I walked beside Zen, and I was hit with the smell. The familiar horrific smell that reminded me of home.  
The smell of dead bodies filled my nostrils, and I felt like fainting from the despair. I could picture the piles of bodies in the trenches, bodies lying throughout the orchards, and people being shot in the head or burned alive when I first arrived back home. All of my horrifying memories came flooding back, and I knew that the scent of dead bodies was something I could never forget.   
Dead bodies were scattered all around the trees and bushes only several feet away from us. I walked towards the scene and Zen followed behind me. Alma and Rye walked behind Zen.   
I looked down at some of the bodies. I noticed they were nothing but skeletons. A few of the bodies had eaten pieces of flesh on their ribs, arms, and legs.   
The skeletons were coated in dried blood, and I covered my nose.   
“It sure looks like Hell’s garden out here. The smell is breathtaking in a bad way.” Alma stated and Rye began coughing.   
“The ostrich vultures must have eaten the flesh off of the bodies.” Zen said.  
“Yes, but who or what killed them.” I said still looking down at the bodies.  
“At this point there is no telling.” Zen said.   
“By the looks of it, Chronis is playing some kind of sick game with us.” I said feeling the anger rise inside of me.   
“How can any of this be possible? We have been attacked by two different mutants and here we are damaged but still alive.” I replied.  
“And you said the Games started as soon as we escaped District 11, Alma?” Zen questioned looking over at Alma.   
“I am pretty sure but I can’t be exactly positive. All I know is the Games started on the day I met ya’ll in District 10.” Alma responded still staring at the bodies.   
“How ironic. I believe everything that is happening in the Hunger Games is happening to us.” I said.   
“Chronis must be transporting the mutants into the woods. He has to be watching us somehow.” Zen replied.   
“I would not be surprised if he has camera’s implanted in our brains. Nothing surprises me anymore.” I said unsure of what to feel.  
Rye ran to one of the nearby bushes and started gaging violently.   
Rye began vomiting profusely, and I turned my head around disgust.   
“Well, that’s one way to water a garden.” Alma said and I realized nothing she said made since.   
When I turned my head around, I saw a skeleton lying right beside my feet. The skeleton clothes were torn, but I noticed a weapon lying beside its pelvis. It was a sickle.   
I quickly picked up the sickle, and I felt a stinging pain in my back. I touched my back, and I felt a lump under my shirt. Being from District 11 I understood what that meant. It was a bug under my clothes. I quickly lifted my shirt and knocked the bug off of my back.   
I turned around and I saw the bug flying in the air. The bug was enormous. It had a yellow and black body and a shield on its back. The bug’s shield reminded of a cicada. I assumed the bug was a half killer bee and half cicada.   
The bug landed onto Alma’s cheek.   
“Dammit.” Alma cursed with her potent accent.  
Alma began slapping her face, and I noticed Zen was fanning away the bugs as well.  
A swarm of cicadees flew around all of us, and I tried to fan them away. I could fell a stinging pain on my hands and arms, and I tried to cover my face with my hands.   
The loud hissing of the bugs rang in my ears, and I fell to the ground. 

AN: Ok, so the song for this chapter is Chandelier by Sia. I know it does not match the chapter that much but I feel like it matches Zara in some way. Anyway, now you know that some things that happen in the Games happen on the journey. That does not explain everything but it is a start.   
Also, I decided to choose the cicada bugs because there is a swarm of them were I live. They are everywhere.  
I hope this story is not completely going downhill. Remember, do not be afraid to share your opinions or give me feedback. 


	9. Chapter 9

AN: This chapter includes no Hunger Games. Song for this chapter is Born to Die by Lana Del Rey. Please listen to it.   
Don’t make me sad,  
Don’t make me cry,   
Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough  
I don’t know why  
Keep making me laugh   
Let’s go get high  
The road is long, we carry on  
Try to have fun in the meantime

Zara POV:   
I could feel cool water sprinkling on my skin, and I felt a warm presence above me. It was Zen sitting above me with several crushed green leaves pressed against his neck. By the smell of the leaves I assumed they were basil leaves.   
I sat up quickly, and I took in my surroundings. I was still in the middle of the forest, misty rain was falling, and the killer bee cicada bugs were gone. I stared at the sky and I noticed it had darkened. I guessed it was probably late in the evening.   
Zen held out several crushed basil leaves. “Here, this will help with the pain from the bee stings.” Zen said and I quickly grabbed the crushed leaves.   
“Those are basil leaves, I would have applied some cool water to everyone’s stings, but unfortunately there was no water nearby.” Zen said and I applied the leaves to the bee stings all over my arms and shoulders.  
The stings on my arms were red and itchy. I was looking at my arms, and I realized that I had so many scars I forgot how I got some of them.   
I allowed the wet leaves to sit on my stings for several minutes, and Zen and I sat in silence.   
Rye woke up eventually, and Zen handed him several basil leaves as well. Zen walked over to Alma’s body and called me over to help examine her.   
Alma had red stings all over her face, arms, and hands. The stings looked dry and seemed to have a white crust on them.   
“I checked on her several minutes ago, and I assumed she would be awake by now.” Zen said clearly worried.   
“Maybe she is allergic to bees.” I replied.   
“I thought about that, but there is no swelling.” Zen said studying Alma’s wounds. The rain started to fall harder and thunder sounded. Zen walked beside a tree with a large plant beside it, and I assumed he was gathering more leaves for Alma. He covered her body in leaves.   
I placed my hands behind my head and took my hair out of the ponytail.   
I allowed my straight dark brown hair to get soaked by the pouring rain. The rain fell so hard it became difficult to see. I squinted my eyes toward the area near the basil plant. There was a large hole in the ground several feet away from the plant.   
“Zen we need to find shelter. I think there is a hole somewhere over there.” I said pointing toward the gaping hole in the ground.   
Zen picked Alma’s lifeless body off the ground and we walked toward the hole. The hole smelled like mold and dried animal blood, but it was spacious enough for us to stay. The hole was about seven feet deep with three big rocks inside of it. Rye stood beside me and jumped into the hole first. I assumed he was angry because his raven colored hair was wet. I knocked the remaining basil leaves off my arms and shoulders while Zen lowered Alma’s body into the hole with Rye’s help.   
Zen jumped into the hole, and I jumped after him. Zen decided to sit one of the rocks toward the entrance, so we could easily jump out of the hole. I sat on the edge of the rock Rye sat on while Zen sat on the remaining rock with Alma in his arms.   
This was the first time I ever saw Zen look miserable.   
Zen POV:   
Alma was sleeping soundly in my arms, and I began to worry. The day had passed and night was coming upon us, and Alma was still unconscious. The thunder outside roared, and I listened to the heavy downpour happening above us. Rain fell into our small hole in the ground, and we tried to move away from the ground’s opening.   
Alma did not stir in her sleep, and I found myself constantly checking her pulse to make sure she was alive.   
“Maybe the basil leaves did not help. Maybe the poison from the bee sting entered her bloodstream. She may never wake up.” I said trying not to sound too depressing.   
“I’m sure she’ll wake up eventually.” Zara replied folding her arms across her chest. I noticed Rye was shivering and sweating at the same time.   
After several minutes of complete misery and a silence, Alma began to stir in her sleep.   
I heard a light mumble escape mouth, and I lifted her up further into arms. Her eyes were still sealed shut.   
“Alma, are you awake?” I asked with my voice as calm as possible. I did not want to frighten her.   
“I don’t think…. I must be rejected. Death sent me back to this Hell hole. I feel cheated.” Alma eyes started to flutter open.   
When she opened her eyes, she gazed up at me with a content expression. I could not help but to smile.   
“Well, I guess I shouldn’t be too disappointed.” Alma said and I knew she was going to be alright.  
I laughed lightly, and I brushed my hand across her plant covered face.   
“I could say the same thing.” I replied still smiling.   
“Somebody just kill me now.” Zara stated looking down at the muddy ground.   
Alma rolled her eyes, and then she glared at her arms and hands. Her arms, hands, and face were covered in the basil leaves. Alma touched her face and pulled off one of the crushed basil leaves.   
“Hey, not so fast.” I said patiently.   
“Looks like ya’ll were preparing me for dinner.” Alma said staring at the basil leaf in amusement.   
“Don’t tempt me, Al.” Rye said seriously.   
Zara narrowed her eyes at Rye, and he gave her a similar glare. Zara all of sudden burst out laughing. She laughed for several minutes, and we were all worried about her.   
Zara tapped her boot in the mud and eventually her laughter died. It was replaced with a somber expression.   
“Only cat naps around here.” Alma stated and I was curious about what she meant.   
“You can’t sleep to long around crust.” Alma said staring at Rye.  
Rye just shook his head, and Alma shifted her body in my arms.   
“I’ll get up and walk out in the rain for a while. It’s too stuffy in here.” Alma said lifting her body up and sitting in my lap.   
She knocked the basil leaves off her skin, and I noticed that the skin on her face and arms was swollen, bumpy, and dry. She was still perfect to me.   
“Alright, I will go with you.” I replied standing beside Alma. I stepped on the large rock, and I crawled out of the wet, dirty hole.   
I held out my hand towards Alma, and she crawled onto the ground.   
“What a gentleman, thank you.” Alma said tiredly.   
She let go of my hand quickly, and I felt slightly hurt.   
“How do you feel?” I asked with Alma walking slowly beside me. I noticed she was stumbling a little, and I knew she was still very weak.   
The rain poured down on both us and I waited for Alma to answer.   
She hesitated answering the question. “I am sore all over in a bad way.” Alma said, and my eyes went wide for a moment. I did not expect that kind of response, and a wide smile spread across my face.   
Alma did not seem to notice and she stopped walking suddenly. Her eyes fell briefly and she fainted.   
I held out my arms to catch her, and she fell onto them gracefully. Alma’s eyelids became heavy, and I picked her up. I heard onto Alma tightly and cradled her like a small child.   
Alma’s eyes snapped open. She looked at me with sleepy eyes. “You know you can’t sweep a girl off her feet and make her feel special without something to be expected in return. I’m not that type of girl.” Alma said trying to stay conscious.   
“I’m not that type of guy. I was by raised my mother, and she taught me how to love and cherish everyone. She taught me to never pass up on good things in life because good things rare. When you find true love that means you have to hold onto it, otherwise it will slip away without your control. I want to be a healer. I plan to heal the sick, the poor, and the oppressed. I have no ulterior motives. If you believe that, I am that kind of man than there is a lot you have to learn about me.” I expressed wanting to tell her more.  
“I wish I could learn more, but our circumstances are not matching what we want. It’s my experience that good things, if ever experienced, are short lived, and I can’t afford to think otherwise.” Alma stated and I admired her strength.   
I was about to say something, and all sudden I slipped on a patch of mud. I fell backwards and Alma’s body fell on top of mine.   
Alma’s face was buried in my chest. She quickly lifted her upper body.   
We stared at each other in shock. Our eyes were fixated on each other, and I felt like I was hypnotized.   
Alma leaned closer to my face, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I felt like an enormous rock was sitting on my chest. The cold rain fell on our skin, and somehow I still managed to feel hot. My back rose off of the ground, and my mouth met Alma’s. I could tell we were both inexperienced, so we did not kiss immediately.   
I began to kiss her mouth passionately. Our mouths moved together perfectly, and I felt like I was in heaven. I placed my hand in her curly brown hair and her hands touched my shoulders.   
Alma wrapped her legs around my waist and our mouths moved in unison. It was like we were made for each other. The kiss was wet and intense, and I wished it would last forever.   
The thundered roared fiercely and for the first time our mouths parted. We were both breathing heavily, and I found myself laughing from the joy of the moment.   
I kissed her neck once and she began to pull away from me. I suddenly felt empty again.   
She stood on her feet and held her hand out to me. I accepted it gratefully, and I held her hand tightly. This time she did not let my hand go.   
I turned around and saw Zara crawling out of the hole in the ground.   
“Hey, Rye and I are eating what’s left of the bread and deer meat. If you two do not want to starve, I suggest you join us!” Zara yelled over the rain.   
I noticed the rain started to pour down heavier, and I turned towards Alma.   
I smiled at her relaxed expression, and I wanted to kiss her one more time.   
The thunder roared so loud that the ground could cave in. Then a loud crack sounded. Alma’s expression changed.   
The lightening ripped through the sky and bolted towards Alma. I pushed her out of the way, and a burning pain radiated through me searing every nerve in my body.   
I fell to the ground, and the last thing I saw was Alma running through the forest. 

Zara POV:  
I could not believe the scene that unfolded before me. Alma and Zen seemed like they were about to kiss, Zen got struck by lightning from saving Alma, and Alma ran away without looking back.   
It was just too much for me to process.   
“Zen!” I called running toward Zen’s unconscious body.   
I checked his pulse and heartbeat, and I sighed in relief.   
Rye crawled out of the hole and ran towards Zen and me.  
“What happened?” Rye asked with his eyes wide.   
“This is a fine time to ask Rye.” I responded sitting beside Zen’s body.   
“Zen was struck by lightning.” I said feeling sick and tried.   
“Wait, where is Alma?” Rye said looking around.  
“I don’t know. She just ran away.” I said with a shrug.   
I tried to shake Zen awake but he was unresponsive. I was clearly disparate and deluded.   
“Is he dead?” Rye asked sitting beside me.   
“He’s alive. We have to get him to a hospital.” I said trying to lift his heavy upper body.   
“And risk being seen?” Rye asked clearly not caring about Zen’s well- being.  
“We can drop Zen’s body off at District 8’s hospital and hopefully no one will notice us. Zen is our only hope Rye. Without him we would not have made it this far. I am not going to leave him here to die.” I said finally lifting his upper body off the ground.   
“Are going to help me or are you just going to stand there and watch?” I said clearly struggling. Rye hesitated and decided to help me lift him off the ground.   
“You take that side and I’ll take this side.” I instructed throwing Zen’s right arm over my shoulder.   
Rye struggled to carry Zen’s left side. We walked slowly through the pouring rain, and I was glad that no lightening appeared.   
Rye constantly stumbled and coughed continuously. I noticed his skin looked paler, and I suspected that my current suspicions were accurate.   
“Rye we have to move faster.” I said with pain spreading throughout my shoulders from supporting most of Zen’s weight.  
“I am trying. I’m sick too dammit, but no one offered for me to go to the hospital.” Rye argued and I wonder how Rye assumed he needed special treatment.   
“Let’s just keep moving!” I yelled over the downpour of rain.   
Rye and I walked further through forest until we saw a large clock tower that reached towards the sky, buildings I assumed were factories, and run down tenements. The tenements were sitting several feet away from us, and Rye and I moved toward the edge of the forest.  
Right before we could reach the edge of the forest, I heard the sound of something breaking. I looked down and noticed the ground was cracking.   
I was about to run with Zen in my arms, but the ground beneath our feet broke into pieces and swallowed us whole. 

AN: I believe the song Born to Die fits this chapter and some of next chapter perfectly. For some reason, I think this was my favorite chapter to write. I am not the best at writing romantic scenes, but after rereading Zen and Alma’s scene I think I ship them. Is there anybody in this story worth shipping? Anyway, this is definitely my favorite chapter. Notice, when Rye calls Alma Al. He calls her that because he looks at her like she is a man. Hahaha. I am going to miss Alma. How was this chapter?   
This is the last chapter for a while because I start summer school on Monday. Despite this story being kind of rushed, I really do work hard on it. My sister worked hard writing for Alma. It would mean a lot if I got some more feedback on this story. It was finished and submitted at 4 am as usual. Summer school ends for me at the beginning of July, so until next time. 

Come and take a walk on the wild side   
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain  
You like your girls insane  
Choose your last words  
This is the last time  
Cause you and I, we were born to die


	10. chapter 10

AN: I am starting to think 4am is my middle name. Sorry for any errors I will proof read this more later and just re-add the chapter. (I have not proof read half of it.)   
Rye POV:  
I opened my eyes and everything was blurry. I tried to focus, but my eyes were burning and the dull pain in the back of my head made it difficult to concentrate.   
I blinked several times and my vision gradually returned. After my vision returned everything still looked blurry, but I could still see some of my surroundings. I looked up at the area above me and it seemed like we were trapped inside of a giant hole. Around 200 feet above me, there was a small hole shaped like a bowl. I could see the sky through the hole, and I realized we must be in a hole underground.   
I looked over at Zara who had her back pressed against the wall while Zen’s heavy body was lying in the middle of us.   
I tried to lift back off of the muddy and wet ground, but my muscles were too weak. I decided to lay in the same position, and then I saw Zara stir. Her head was moving back and forth, and I was surprised she did not slam it on the small rock beside her. When I thought of Zara’s head hitting the rock, I noticed that I did not hear any movement.   
Zara POV:   
I could feel cold drips of water fall onto my skin as I slowly gained consciousness. When I finally opened my eyes, I was tempted to close them again. There was a small rock sitting beside my face while my cheek was pressed against the mud. My body was lying on the muddy worm infested ground while my back was pressed against the solid and smooth rock. A low grunt escaped my mouth as I felt a sharp and throbbing pain in my wrist. The pain was unspeakable, and I tried to focus on something else. I looked at the surface above me, and I could see the bright sun shining through a small circular hole. I suddenly felt lost and confused. Was I underground?   
My memories slowly started to return, and I remembered what happened. Zen, Rye, and I fell into a sinkhole while we were trying to carry Zen to a hospital.   
When my mind flashed to Zen being electrocuted, I lifted my upper body off of the filthy ground.  
All of my shock and concern for Zen returned, and I saw his body lying in the center of the hole. The sinkhole appeared to be around 200 feet deep with a small hole shaped like a perfect circle displaying the outside surface. Part of me was relieved that the sinkhole did not have any crumbling rocks. The walls of the deep hole were surprisingly smooth, but water from the wet ground on the outside of the hole still managed to seep into the sinkhole.   
My mind drifted to the worst scenarios. If someone decided to cover the small hole than we would be trapped down there forever or if a flood occurred from excessive rain than all of us could have drowned.   
I used the little willpower I had left to ignore my negative thoughts and place all of my attention onto Zen. Zen’s body was lying in the center of the hole right across from Rye’s. I saw that Rye was awake, but I chose not to look at him. I needed to place all of my attention on Zen. I moved toward Zen’s body, and I placed my hand on his neck to check his pulse. His pulse was beating faintly, and I sighed in relief. He was still alive.   
I lightly patted his check hoping that his eyes would flutter, but Zen remained unresponsive.   
I looked over at Rye who was watching my interaction with Zen closely. His eyelids seemed heavy, and I knew he was still sick.  
“Are you ok?” I asked going against everything I believed in.   
Rye was still staring at Zen when I asked him a question.   
“Rye did you hear me? Are you alright?” I asked for a second time and Rye still did not respond. I rolled my eyes and just stared at Rye for several seconds. He could have been ignoring me, but I noticed that he seemed completely disconnected from his surroundings.   
I crawled toward Rye and I sat right beside him. He looked at me and frowned at our close proximity.   
“Zara what are you doing?” Rye croaked and then he had a worried look in his eyes.   
“I was about to come over here and slap you for making me seemed concerned.” I said telling him the truth.   
“What’s your problem?” I said looking Rye directly in his eyes.   
Rye’s eyes were wide as apples while he watched my lips move closely. Rye mouthed the words as I said them, and I thought that he was seriously mocking me. I looked down at his lips and I noticed that they were turning dark blue while his cheeks and forehead were stained with mud.  
“I don’t even know why I am wasting my time.” I said getting ready to stand.   
Rye knitted his brows and grabbed onto my aching wrist.   
I screamed in pain.   
“What the hell Rye.” I said while the pain radiated throughout my wrist and hand.  
I snatched my hand away from Rye’s tight grip, and I could feel tears brimming. I held back the tears from years of practice and placed my injured wrist on an area near my heart.   
My heart was beating rapidly from the intense pain and the anger I felt towards Rye. Rye just stared at me looking completely bewildered.   
“I can’t hear anything.” He explained finally. It still did not excuse him for grasping my wrist.   
“Why didn’t you say something when I asked you if you were ok?” I questioned.   
Rye seemed like he was trying to read my lips. “I wasn’t sure until a few seconds ago.” He replied with a clear voice and I assumed he was playing me.   
Rye stared at me seriously and I still did not want to believe him. Then I remembered when I was temporarily blind, and Rye’s excuse started seem more realistic. I held my uninjured hand towards Rye, and he leaned away.   
I kneeled down beside him. “Relax, I am not going to slap you. I am trying to see if you have a fever.” I said noticing how wet his face was, and I was not sure if it was water from the damp atmosphere or feverish sweats.   
Rye’s skin was freezing, and I knew he would not survive more than forty eight hours in that condition.   
“You definitely have a fever, your skin is freezing cold.” I replied wondering if he could last the night.   
Rye groaned in pain, and he placed his hand on his neck. I assumed his neck was hurting. Every time I had a fever my neck ached.   
I did not realize my hand was still on Rye’s mud stained face, and he leaned into my touch.   
My eyes went wide, and he looked at me. “Your hand is warm.” He replied with a smirk on his face, and I instantly removed it. Rye narrowed his eyes at me, and I shrugged.   
I heard the sound of soft cries behind me, and I turned around to see Zen groaning in pain. His eyes were still closed, and I could see sweat dripping from his forehead. Mud and dirt was caught in his long silky, dark brown hair.   
Zen’s opened his almond shaped hazel eyes.  
“Zara.” Zen called hoarsely. His voice sounded soft and frail.   
Both of his hands started trembling violently. Zen’s eyes scanned my face.  
“Zara.” He called for a second time.   
“Yes Zen.”   
“What- wha hap-happened.” Zen struggled to say. His eyes bored into my mine, but he never moved his head or neck.  
“Your hands are trembling.” I said looking at his trembling hands.   
“I ca- can’t feel anything. My whole bodies is numb, but I can feel this burning pain in my chest.” Zen said and I looked down at the scorched hole in the front of Zen’s uniform. There was a black burnt hole in Zen’s uniform, but I could not see a burn mark or scar through the burnt piece of clothing.   
I took a deep breath trying to prepare myself for a depressing speech. “There was a bad thunderstorm occurring when you were outside walking with Alma. After you two kissed lightening can down from the sky, and Alma was almost struck by it. Of course you jumped in front of Alma and the lightning struck you instead. And Alma left you lying on the ground alone unaware of whether you were alive or dead.” I explained and Zen’s eyes began like glass.   
“Alma wouldn’t do that. Would she?” Zen asked sounding like a scorn child.   
“There is no question in whether she would Zen. She did leave you alone. She left you there to die after you saved her life.” I stated not regretting a word.   
“I am sure she had her reasons. She needs to get to, to the Capitol just like us.” Zen said still making excuses.   
“Whatever lie helps you heal Zen.” I said and Zen just closed his eyes for a moment.   
“Is there anything I can do for you?” I questioned looking down at his still trembling hands.   
“Yes. Remember those plants I placed in my bag?”  
“Yeah.” I stated.  
“Well, I don’t have anything to help me sleep but a hallucinogenic drug is the next best thing.” Zen replied.   
“I have three vials of angel harp dust in my bag. I want you take it out of the bag and put it to my nose, so I can inhale it.” Zen instructed.   
“Are you sure? There are a lot of harmful effects to taking the drug like: violent behavior, visions, and an overdose of it can result in death.   
Zen’s nostrils flared at the when I mentioned death. “I have nothing else to lose.” He stated dramatically and I sadly understood what he meant.   
I grabbed his bag that sat near the area where I woke up. I opened bag and searched through it for several seconds until I finally found the three vials. I uncorked the vial and placed it to Zen’s nose the powder flew into his nostrils, and I noticed Zen’s eyes were turning dark red.   
“That’s enough.” Zen said after several seconds and I saw that he only sniffed half of the powder.   
After Zen was done sniffing the angel harp powder he closed his eyes. I was not sure if he was sleep or awake but I watched his burned chest rise and fall to make sure he was alive. Once I was reassured about Zen, I became tempted to sniff the powder.   
Then I looked over at Rye who seemed to be lost in a deep sleep. He was breathing heavily and slob was running out the side of his mouth.   
I crawled towards him and patted him on the face. The pat was closer to a slap. I patted him on the face while trying to hold the vial in my fingers.   
Rye opened he eyes tiredly. “Here sniff this. It will help.” I mouthed slowly.   
Rye grabbed the vial and did not hesitate to sniff the rest of the powder. I walked over to Zen’s bag and grabbed another vial. I removed the vial’s top, and I battled with my inner demons.   
I had never done drugs before unlike so many of District 11’s citizens. The angel harp powder smelled like fresh grass, and it reminded me of the times when District 11’s plants flourished.   
“Now they are all dead.” I said to myself.   
The despair over District 11 that haunted my dreams caused me to inhale some of the drug. Once I inhaled half of the powder my head felt like it was spinning, and I began to see double.   
I removed my injured wrist from my chest, and it had stiffened from being held in one place for so long. My wrist was swollen while a dark purple bruise appeared around it. My wrist was killing me, and I needed an escape from the pain.   
I inhaled the rest of the powder not caring if it killed me. I have nothing else to lose. I repeated Zen’s words.   
After taking the full dosage of the drug, I passed out and the empty vial rolled onto the muddy ground.   
I remained passed out for several minutes until I heard the sound of a somewhat familiar voice.   
“So this is how you mourn my death.” I heard someone say. I opened my eyes to see Zander Chronis standing above me. He wore a pair of tight fitted black pants, a white button down, a black military fleece jacket with a hood and quarter length sleeves, and a pair of laced black boots.   
His thick wavy, hair was styled perfectly, and his amber eyes shined in the dark sinkhole. Zander sat down close beside me, and I wished that I was holding my sickle.   
“And here I was hoping that you were back home still crying over me.” Zander said with a nasty smirk on his face.   
“I never cried over you.” I replied with my eyes barely open. I was completely dazed from the drug.   
Zander did not seem fazed by my toxic state. “No, I expect you used the old Zara way by pretending that I never existed.” Zander said in a matter of fact way.   
“I must be dreaming you cannot be real.” I said placing my uninjured hand on my forehand.   
Zander looked at my bruised wrist and he grabbed it gently. I did not feel any pain when he touched my wrist and I was certain that it was a dream.   
Zander rubbed my wrist lightly and I was too out of it to stop it. He treated my wrist like delicate flower, and I wanted to slap him for it. I snatched my wrist away from him.   
“You have to get out of here Zara. My brother has gone so insane that the people in the Capitol are questioning whether or not they have a real leader. Then the population in District 11 is constantly dwindling with the lasser pox epidemic, and not to mention Rye’s parents Katniss and Peeta. Innocent people are dying all around them Zara.” Zander stated.   
“I don’t see how I can help anyone.”   
“You can, I have faith in you.” Zander said.  
“Sure you do.” I replied dryly.   
“I think I lost faith in myself a long time ago.” I said turning my head towards Zander.   
“That is the aftermath of being in Games. When you feel like all hope is lost and you have nothing else to live for, just remember that other people died so you could live.” Zander stated getting lost in thought.  
I refused to allow myself to feel guilty after his remark. I could not let myself feel guilty for killing Zander or dwell on the events from the Hunger Games. If I dwelled on my tragic past I knew that it would drive me insane, and even though I always had nightmares about the Games it was never by choice. I had enough despair in my life, there was no way I could open up another door to remind me of why I was so depressed.   
“I don’t want think about that. I don’t want to feel anything for anyone.” I said looking over at Zander. Zander stared at me and his expression was unreadable.  
He seemed present but faraway at the same time.   
“You have to learn to face your demons.” Zander spoke wisely, and I thought that death really complimented him.   
“I am talking to you aren’t I?” I said with a light smile and Zander did not seem amused.   
“I don’t just mean me.” He said seriously.   
“Facing my demons seems impossible.” I replied looking in his eyes once again.   
“Nothing is impossible.” Zander said honestly and I did not know how to compete with his comment.   
Zander continued to stare at me and I watched him closely as if he would disappear at any moment. The ways Zander’s glared at me he seemed to be thinking the same thing. After all, our time together was short, so I assumed he wanted to savior the moment.   
The way Zander eyes bored into to mine I knew that I did not miss that feeling. I did not miss the suffocating flirtatious moments or intense moments that made me want to disappear. The few moments I was around Zander in the Games made me want to crawl in a hole and die, and I got what I wished for.   
A smirk formed on Zander’s lips but it did not break his concentration on my face. Zander’s eyes fell from my eyes to my mouth, and I knew I needed to escape my nightmare before it was too late. The effects of the angel harp powder seemed to still curse my body. That was the solution to my positive attitude towards Zander.   
Zander leaned his mouth down to mine and our lips were only seconds away from joining. I could not really feel Zander’s presence, but somehow I could still feel a cool breath brush against my dry and itchy skin.   
In the moment, Zander’s lips pressed against mine I could feel a slimy, a cold object moving against my cheek.   
I opened my eyes, and Zander was nowhere in sight. Rye was kneeled in front of me holding a six inch worm in his hands.   
“It was just a nightmare. None of it was real.” I said internally. The pain in my wrist returned and I could feel a headache beginning to form.  
Rye stared at me still holding the worm in front of me.   
“Finally you are awake. I knew that would wake you.” Rye said and I touched my face. There was slim from the wet and dirty worm and I could feel the anger burn inside of me.   
“Get that disgusting thing away from me!” I yelled slapping the worm out of Rye’s hand.   
Rye seemed completely amused by my disgust. “Well, I have good news. My hearing is back. Everything still sounds a little foggy, but for the most part I can hear again.” Rye said as if I was supposed to care.  
“Congratulations Rye.” I said unenthusiastically.   
I heard the sound of movement behind Rye, and I moved past him to see Zen awake with his back pressed against the wall.   
“Zen you are awake.” I said utterly surprised.   
“Yes to my dismay.” He said depressingly.  
“Do you feel better?” I asked trying to be hopeful.  
“Yes and no. The positive is that some feeling has returned in my upper body, and I have lost feeling in the burnt hole that’s in my chest. The negative is that the feeling in my legs and feet haven’t returned, and I’m afraid it never will.” Zen said with a worried expression.  
“Every little improvement counts. I’m just glad you are doing better.”   
“I know, but we have to get out of here. All of our conditions are going to get worse if we don’t receive some medical attention. Rye’s illness, your wrist, and my whole body needs to be examined.” Zen stated and I agreed.   
“Can we just take a moment to be happy about my restored hearing?” Rye jumped in.   
“We don’t care Rye.” I said fiercely.   
“And to think I shared my food with you people.” Rye stated and I wished he was kidding.   
“Very little. You ate almost all of it.” I argued.   
“And I am still starving.” Rye argued. Once again I wished he was not serious.   
“Can both of you please be quiet?” Zen asked in the softest tone I had ever heard from him.  
“Of course.” I responded.   
“No problem.” Rye finished.   
Zara POV:   
The Hunger Games  
The burning fire burned lightened the darkness of the deciduous forest. I stalked Zen’s body like a jabber jay and I still did not feel content. An entire day had passed and Zen still had not awakened after falling out of the tree.   
I felt grateful that he had a blanket in his bag, so we cover up his body while he slept. I turned my attention away from Zen briefly and I could see Cain, Loni, and Rye sitting beside each other only several feet away.   
I figured all of them were judging me and my actions towards Zen. But no one understood that losing Zen was like losing Taro. Sometimes I questioned if Taro ever existed, if anything in my life was ever real. Maybe I was just a puzzle piece in someone else’s game, and somehow I knew that I was destined to lose.   
“Zara.” I heard a soft voice say.  
“Hey you’re awake.” I said trying to keep my voice down. I did not want to alarm him.   
Zen looked away from me. He had a confused look on his face as he took in his surroundings.   
“I had the strangest dream.” He stated making eye contact with me again.  
“About?”   
“I had a dream that of none of this was real. That you and I were not…” He said collecting his thoughts.   
Zen’s words made my heart beat uncontrollably because I was just dwelling on the possibilities.  
“Zara there is something that I need to tell you.” Zen said but he was suddenly interrupted.   
Cain placed his hands under my arms pits from behind and left me off of the ground.   
“Time for dinner kitten.” He said with a grin on his face.   
Cain loved to stir up trouble. His hands fell from my arm pits to my waist. “Get your hands off of me.” I spat wanting him to get the message.   
“You like it.” Cain replied and I was about to slap him in the face.   
Instead I gave him the evil eye and he just stood there wearing a smug grin.   
“Like I said dinner’s ready. I hope you like the taste of raccoon stew.” He said before walking away. I decided to ignore Zen’s response and I joined the rest of them for dinner.   
Zara POV:  
I counted the sound of the drips of water on my skin. There was one thing I was sure of, I was tired of being drenched in water and mud and other toxins.   
Every part of my body smelled horrible and the very thought of my uncomfortable position made my skin itch more. Through my pain and suffering I thought about a song my mother and grandmother taught me.   
They said they created a hum from the sound of the mockingjay’s singing. I normally hated singing and music but through hardships it helped me cope.   
I began humming the song and Rye stared at me like I was crazy. I didn’t care because nothing else mattered.   
After several minutes of singing, I heard faint noises coming from outside of the sinkhole.   
“Gunner, come back her please.” I heard a young female voice say.   
The voice was distant, but I could still hear it. I stopped humming.  
“Do you hear that?” I asked looking at Zen and Rye.   
“Yeah.” Rye responded in amazement.  
“Yes.” Zen said weakly.   
I looked up the hole, and I saw that the sky had turned dark. The only light shining through the sinkhole came from the moon.   
“Gunner please.” The girl pleaded.   
I could hear distant footsteps. I looked down at the dark, muddy ground and I grabbed the one rock beside me.  
I threw the rock as hard as I could. “Hey! Please help us!” I yelled as loud as I could. My voice echoed throughout the sinkhole.  
“Yeah, help!” Rye added and everything went completely silent. I was about to lose hope when suddenly.   
A young boy with auburn colored hair and pale skin peaked inside of the sinkhole.   
I smiled from the overwhelming joy.   
“Can you help us please, we are stuck down here.” I said and the boy looked at me curiously.   
“Gunner what are you looking at?” The girl replied peaking her head into the deep sinkhole.   
“Oh my god. Zara and Rye?”  
The girl said and I had a feeling it was going to be a long night. 

AN: Another weird ending to a chapter. The song for this chapter is Dark Paradise by Lana Del Rey. If you haven’t heard please listen to it. Another song for Zara’s dream is Unchained Melody. Please listen to that as well. (Lame I know but I thought it kind of matches). Anyway new characters yay!!


	11. Chapter 11

I'm in here, can anybody see me?  
Can anybody help?  
I'm in here, a prisoner of history  
Can anybody help?  
Can't you hear my call?  
Are you coming to get me now?  
I've been waiting for you to come rescue me  
I need you to hold  
All of the sadness I cannot, living inside of me  
Song for this chapter: I’m In Here by Sia  
Previous Chapter: “Gunner what are you looking at?” The girl replied peaking her head into the deep sinkhole.  
“Oh my god. Zara and Rye?” The girl said and I had a feeling it was going to be a long night.  
Zara POV:  
“Is it really you?” The girl questioned and I could not tell whether she was scared or excited.  
“In the flesh. Now could you please find a way to get us out of here?” I said feeling my patience thinning by the minute.  
“That is impossible. It can’t really be you.” The girl replied like she couldn’t find the right words to describe the situation.  
“I think I know myself.” Rye replied in a sarcastic way, and my patience thinned even more.  
“Why would you question if it was really us?” I asked suddenly curious about what she meant.  
“Because I saw you, Rye, and even Zen on television. I watched the premiere of this year’s Games, and all of you are in it.” The strange girl stated and all of my thoughts started to run together.  
“How can that be possible?” I questioned and then Zander’s words from my nightmare rang inside of my head. Nothing is impossible.  
Zen and I concluded that everything that happens in the Hunger Games happens in our real lives, it could have been possible for someone posing as me to be a tribute in the Games.  
This year’s, Games involved only tributes related to former tributes or victors. Too many years had passed for President Chronis to hold a Quarter Quell considering most of the former victors were dead.  
I collected my thoughts, and then I gazed at the girl and the boy Gunner who both peaked their heads into the hole.  
“Listen, I know none of this makes any since, but I need you two to trust me. We are the real Rye, Zen, and Zara, and we are trapped inside of this giant sinkhole. Zen was struck by lightning, and he is seriously in need of medical attention. Just help us get out of here, and maybe we can figure of this out together.” I instructed and the girl nodded.  
“Of course, I’ll go see if I can find some supplies to help pull you out of here.” The girl stated. Her voice echoed throughout the sinkhole. She disappeared with Gunner whom I assumed was her younger brother.  
After the girl and her brother left, I looked down at Zen who had fallen asleep.  
I was stunned that Rye was still standing. His will to live kept him from momentarily complaining.  
The noise from my screams did not seem to affect Zen, and I noticed that his breathing was uneven.  
“Zen I need you to wake up. There are two people who are here to help us.” I said shaking his shoulders.  
Zen opened his eyes and a smiled formed on his lips. “We are getting out of here.” I said feeling hopeful for once. Looking at Zen’s calm expression, I couldn’t help but to smile a little.  
“Good.” Zen responded quietly.  
“I honestly don’t know what’s going on, but I can’t wait to get the hell out of here.” Rye said and as usual I just shook my head at his stupidity.  
After Rye’s comment we waited minutes, counted seconds, and suffered hours for the girl and her brother to return. I grew restless, and I felt nauseated every time my mind floated to the possibility of being betrayed by the two strangers or dying in a muddy sinkhole.  
I wanted to be hopeful and believe that we could possibly be saved, but it would take more than just saving me from the sinkhole to make unconvinced me that the little hope I had was false. After I won the Hunger Games, I knew that danger would follow me in every direction that I turned as long as Nicholas Chronis was alive.  
Chronis wanted revenge for me killing Zander in the Games, and he would stop at nothing until he ruined me and destroyed everyone that walked along my path. That’s why I had to escape the sinkhole and travel to the Capitol. Because even if saving other’s lives killed me at least my death would not have been in vain.  
“Maybe they got lost or maybe one of the Peacekeepers got a hold of them.” Rye guessed.  
“I doubt it.” I added simply.  
“All we can do is wait.” Zen said, and I silently agreed.  
The sound of quiet footsteps appeared minutes later. I gazed up at the perfect circle at the top of the dark deep abyss we were trapped in. A tan sisal rope started to drop into the sinkhole. The sisal rope dropped into the sinkhole little by little, and I was not sure if it was the girl or her brother dropping the rope into the hole.  
I settled on keeping my mouth shut because I feared it could be Peacekeeper’s trying to fool us. Several minutes went by, and the rope finally landed onto the floor of the sinkhole.  
The girl finally peaked her head into the sinkhole after we were left to wonder if we were really being recused.  
“Hey, my friend Tex is going to pull you out of here. Just be patient and try to keep quiet. Most of the Peacekeepers are off duty since it’s three in the morning, but a few still lurk around this time, so just keep your voices down.” The girl informed in a small voice.  
“Alright.” I answered while Rye just stared up at the girl with no expression on his face.  
“Zen should be the first person to go.” I stated looking from Rye to Zen.  
“No Zara, go I will be fine.” Zen swore, but I was not falling from his lies.  
I kneeled beside Zen, and I grabbed his left arm and threw it over my shoulder. “A little help here Rye.” I struggled.  
“I need you to lift the right side of his body, and this time don’t place all of his weight on me. My back and wrist are both already killing me.” I said supporting the left side of Zen’s broken body. He was fortunate that he could not feel anything.  
Rye sighed heavily. He visibly showed his agitation.  
“You would want someone to help you if you were electrocuted.” I said with my eyes pointed toward Rye.  
“Yeah right, expect I would never do what Zen did.” Rye responded with an exhausted appearance.  
“Besides you’re asking for my help when I feel like I need to be carried to the rope. I’m hurting all over. I haven’t pissed or shitted in forever. My vision is like sixty, sixty, and what’s his excuse? Zen’s hurting because he fell in love with Alma. And here I am feeling like I am going to croak at any second, and I don’t even understand why.” Rye ranted.  
That was the only thing he was an expert in whining and complaining. His parents turned him into a spoiled rotten piece of nothing. Then the worst part about Rye’s rants was he talked like Zen was invisible.  
“Zara it is all right, you can let go of me. Just leave me here to die.” Zen uttered.  
“No. Zen just hold onto the rope.” I replied allowing him to lean on me until he got a tight grip onto the rope. Zen’s body leaned as he gripped onto the tan rope, and I knew it was because he could not feel his legs. Rye and I watched at a distance.  
“Are you guys ready?” The girl called quietly. “Yes, Zen’s going first, and he can’t walk so we are going to have to carry him.” I stated hoping my voice did not echo to loudly.  
“Alright. Start pulling Tex.” She said and I could barely hear her since Tex was probably standing a farther distance away.  
Zen’s body was being carefully lifted, and I imagined it must have been difficult for him and the man Tex.  
“I don’t think that rope is going to be able to carry all of us.” Rye voiced, and I knew exactly what he was implying. He was stating the rope would not be able to carry me as if I was obese. I was obviously bone thin, but I would not put anything past Rye.  
I unconsciously pulled my sickle weapon out of my pants. I pointed the weapon towards the spot where the male Adam’s apple was located.  
Rye backed away into the sinkhole’s wall.  
“Listen to me Rye. I have been to hell and back. So don’t tell me about your suffering or pain because guess what no matter how much you’ve suffered it will never compare to all of the pain I’ve experienced.” I stated holding the sickle with my good hand. I crept towards Rye like a starving serpent ready to attack its prey.  
“I know your parent’s are probably still alive, but stabbing you right now would just be so damn gratifying. I am closer to hell than I ever have been being stuck in this sinkhole, so just don’t test me. OK?” I reasoned.  
I pressed the blade of the sickle against the front of Rye’s neck. I saw him swallow hard. In that moment, Rye saw me as a dangerous threat and part of me felt exhilarated while the other side felt ill to the core.  
“Yeah, fine. Relax, I was just kidding.” Rye replied quietly, and I realized I had put him in his place for once.  
“Good.” I replied trying to block out any guilt that threatened to invade my mind.  
I backed away from Rye and placed the stolen sickle back into my pants. I looked up the see the rope falling back into the sinkhole. I was relieved that Zen was going to get the medical attention he desperately needed.  
“Your turn.” I said glaring back at Rye.  
“No you should go.” He enforced.  
“No you go, I insist.” I stated.  
“Zara I’m serious, go.” Rye said raising his voice.  
“No.” I protested.  
Rye groaned in aggravation. “Fine.” He said grabbing onto the rope and crossing his legs at the bottom for more support.  
They pulled Rye up a little faster than Zen, but the process was still agonizingly slow. Once Rye finally made it to the top of the hole, I saw the girl grab onto his hand attempting to help him crawl onto the surface. I doubted I would receive the same treatment.  
The rope was lowered back into the sinkhole pretty swiftly, and I assumed they were in a rush. They must have feared we would be caught by Peacekeepers.  
When the rope fell to the bottom of the sinkhole, I grasped onto the bottom of the rope. I tied the bottom part of the rope around my slim waist because I knew that I would only be able to hold onto the rope with one hand. I used my good hand to hold onto the piece of sisal rope in front of my face.  
“Ready?” The girl questioned looking into the hole hopefully for the final time.  
“As I’ll ever be.” I answered back.  
The person Tex pulled me up with ease. For a minute, I was paranoid that the thin rope would break, but when I was lifted halfway through the sinkhole my worry slowly faded away.  
It seemed like I arrived at the top of the hole in the matter of seconds, and I could feel another wave of relief wash over me. When I reached the top, I grabbed onto the muddy ground and thin patches of grass.  
“Come on.” The girl ordered, and I felt tempted to call her out on rushing me.  
Tex let go of the rope, and he pulled the rest of my body out of the hole. If it were not for him, I would have slipped back into the sinkhole.  
“Thanks.” I said getting a good observation of my rescuer.  
Tex had a rich chocolate skin tone similar to mine. He had a brawny build, black irises, bald head, unblemished skin, and I estimated that he was around seven feet tall. He appeared to be around forty years old.  
Somehow older dark skin men reminded me of Ronan, which meant I did not trust him.  
“No problem. I’ll carry Zen.” He replied and I nodded.  
“Here, all of you need to put these on.” The girl said handing me a military scarf also known as a shemagh head wrap.  
The military scarf was olive green and black. It was made like a small blanket, and I tried to fold it into a triangle. The task was proven to be challenging since I tried to fold it with one hand.  
“Let me help.” Tex insisted with his heavy, deep voice.  
Tex placed the folded head wrap on top of my head, then he took the shorter side of the wrap and placed it on the left side of my head. He placed the longer side across my mouth, and he tied the longer side with the shorter side, that sat on the left side of my head.  
Everything on my face was covered expect my eyes. I looked passed Tex to see the girl tying Rye’s head wrap. Zen already had his tied. You could still see Zen’s long silky hair sitting underneath the wrap.  
“Thanks again.” I told Tex as I walked passed him.  
Once the girl was finished tying Rye’s military scarf, she whispered something to him. I don’t see how he heard her through the thick military scarf, but I could practically see him grinning through the scarf.  
Rye noticed me watching them, and their conversation ended. Rye’s eyes fell to the ground while the girl backed away from him.  
“Oh, Zara I did not introduce myself. My name is Luna Cabot and my little brother’s name is Gunner Cabot.” Gunner stood a few feet away from all of us. He seemed like he was walking toward the city of District 8. I figured he was anxious to leave the woods and I could relate.  
“Great. Thanks for saving us.” I responded not knowing what else to say. It was pointless to introduce myself, she already knew me.  
“It was an honor.” She said like we were superior. Clearly, Luna did not have any self- respect or common sense. There was nothing superior about me, Rye, or Zen. The very thought of even one person viewing me that way made me feel ill while I knew Rye wallowed in it.  
“All of you should know that my brother is mute. Our parents were murdered by Peacekeeper’s two years ago, and he hasn’t spoken a word since. I just wanted you to know that, so you want be alarmed when he does not respond to anything.” Luna stated.  
“That is no big deal. People thought I was mute for years. Now let’s get Zen to a hospital.” I said looking over at Zen who seemed like he was wasting away.  
Zen was sitting down on the dirt covered ground with his back pressed against a tree.  
“I hate to say this, but I don’t think we will be able to go to a hospital. The sun will be rising in a couple of hours and that is when our morning shirt at work begins, the Peacekeepers will be out then. I believe it would be safer if all of you just stayed in my one bed room tenement. It’s not much, but it is enough to keep you out of sight for now. As for Zen, I will be a certified nurse in a couple of years, so I can take care of him.” Luna stated.  
“Fine. Let’s just get out of here before someone sees us.” I indicated.  
Tex threw Zen’s body over his shoulder while Rye walked closely behind Luna. I walked beside Tex as we treaded out of the District’s woods and into the city of District 8. The sight of the District was so different from District 11. District 11 only had grasslands, fields, orchards, run down villages, and a small town square.  
District 8 was like an abyss of concrete and tall buildings. The buildings reached towards the sky, and I believe that the tenements were one of the shortest buildings. Since District 8 was known for their factories and clothes making, I guessed that most of the buildings were factories while a few were clothing stores.  
After of several minutes of creeping behind dark allies and behind abandoned run-down buildings that appeared to be restaurants or schools, we arrived at the tenement.  
The tenement was a beige colored building on the exterior with chipped paint and pieces of mold that resembled green vines.  
The tenement smelled like human bile, and we stood several feet away from the front of the building.  
The building was average in size, and I gazed upon all of the cracked windows. The people who lived in the tenement must have received little privacy since the windows did not have curtains.  
“This way.” Luna whispered. We followed her into a dark alley at the back of the building. I looked at the area several feet above me. I strained my eyes to see a thin sliver clothes line sitting from the back of Luna’s tenement to the tenement sitting beside it. The tenements were uncomfortably close together, and there was no wonder the alley we walked on was so narrow. 

The heat in the District was 8 humid, and suffocating, but it does not compare to District 11’s humidity. The heat in District 11 was hot as hell fire.  
We entered the building through the narrow scratched up, white back door. As soon as we entered the building the darkness of the alley was replaced by a dim lit box shaped room with several stairways. The room had nothing in it, but wooden stairs that made an irritating creaking sound. The stairways contained a light bulb that flickered on and off constantly. Each stair had its own light bulb attached to the ceiling.  
We moved up the two flights of stairs swiftly, and we stopped at the top of the third flight of stairs. I gazed up and counted the rest of the stair ways. There was five more flights left which meant it was eight floors in the apartment. Luna opened the door once we all made it to the top of the stairs. The door sat to the side dangerously close to the stairs.  
When we walked onto the narrow hall of the apartment it smelled like fresh mildew and sour milk. I looked down at the hard, stained tan carpet we walked on.  
I heard the sound of babies crying, adults yelling, banging noises, and moaning.  
Rye cleared his throat at the sound of people moaning, and the noise sickened me. I walked beside Rye while Tex and Luna walked in front of us. Gunner walked or skipped in front of all of us.  
I noticed that some people did not have doors to their rooms while others had vulgar messages written on their door.  
I saw bile scattered across someone’s wooden floor. The rooms that contained doors had narrow doors painted white with blood stains and black splatters of something. One door said the odds will never be in our favor. Another said turn your weapons to President Chronis, and Rye chuckled at one of them.  
The words were written in blood, and it said suck ass. Rye pointed to the door and shook his head while laughing. I rolled my eyes at his immature behavior.  
When we arrived at the last room on the left side of the hall Luna took a card out of her dress pocket. I realized that Luna looked fairly clean to live in such horrible conditions, but I guessed I could have said the same about myself in District 11.  
Luna wore an olive green dress that fell to her knees. The dress had golden buttons from the bottom to the top. It had two large pockets beneath the waste area. She wore a pair of dark green short, cotton flat boots along with it. The boots appeared like they wrapped around her feet.  
Luna pressed the card on the scanner sitting above the door knob, and she opened the door.  
We all entered inside the room. I expected a destitute area with little furniture and an acquired smell. That is exactly what I received.  
There was one candle that lit the room, and I assumed they did not have any electricity. I was accustomed to that as well.  
The apartment room had a filthy yellow coach in the center with two large windows behind it.  
The windows did not have any curtains, and you could look right across the street or observe the view outside. I was just pleased the glass was not cracked.  
There was no tables in the box shaped room, but there was an oval red and blue rug sitting in front of the coach.  
The floors were hardwood while the walls were painted beige. The walls appeared to be mostly white though since all of the paint was almost chipped. I could see crayon marks on the walls and water stains on the ceiling.  
On the right side of the room was a narrow room with a visible toilet and sitting right beside it was another area that was covered with a sea green curtain.  
On the left side of the room sat two more rooms that appeared to be walk in closets. I suspected they were closets since I saw a pair of shoes sitting outside of one of the white painted rooms.  
Gunner ran toward the coach, and Tex placed Zen down on the coach beside Gunner.  
“Here we are home sweet home.” Luna stated with enthusiasm.  
I suddenly felt unwelcome.  
The unbearable truth was I didn’t have a home anymore. My home was gone after my parents died, and deep down I knew that I would never understand the concept of shelter again.  
AN:  
I'm In Here feels like a strange song for this chapter, but it matches Zara at anytime.


	12. chapter 12

Song for this chapter is: Young Blood by Bea Miller (Listen please). I don’t really care that much for the song’s meaning, but I guess it matches the hopelessness. 

Zara POV:   
The air in the room was cool and still.  
I glared up at the ceiling with white chipped paint to see an air vent sitting in the center.   
Tex walked past me and towards the door. “If you need anything you know where to find me.” Tex replied turning and gazing at Luna.   
“Yep. Right next door.” Luna replied with a small smile.   
Tex nodded. “It was nice meeting all of you.” He stated before exiting the room.   
“I know it’s not much, but I want you guys to make yourselves as comfortable as possible.” Luna said staring from me to Rye and Zen.   
“Well, first of all I don’t think I’ll be comfortable with dried mud crumbling off my shoes, covering my clothes, and painted against my skin. We haven’t ate a proper meal, showered, or used the bathroom since we started this trip, so I think we are going to need some help with all of that. Otherwise, we might as well leave now. It’s pointless staying here anyway since we’ll maybe only be benefiting ourselves.” I stated tired of being a filthy, emotional wreak.   
“I’m not going anywhere.” Rye added, and I narrowed my eyes at him.   
“I understand completely Zara, and I’m so glad I saved up my monthly small paycheck to buy some supplies the other day.” Luna said walking towards the second white painted door on the left side on the room.   
“I kept everything I own in both of our closets. I store all the important necessities like household items in my closet and items like canned goods, and other essential things are inside of Gunnar’s closet which is right next to mine, in case you haven’t noticed. In my closet, I have towels, soap, toothbrushes, and allergy medication because Gunnar has very bad allergies especially in the morning time when air pollution is terrible because the factories are just opening then.” Luna explained.   
“Just so you know, I have to store everything in our closets since my apartment space is just one room. I don’t have any place to put our things, so I figured why not put everything in our walk in closets.”   
“So if you need anything out of my closet for personal grooming than help yourself. Unfortunately the only food we have left is canned chicken broth, so I hope you don’t mind.” Luna said.  
“I’ll eat anything right about now.” Rye said.   
“Well help yourself Mr. Mellark.” Luna said to Rye and Rye raised his brows in shock.   
“Mr. you make me sound so old and important, but people call my father that, so just call me Rye.”   
“Ok Rye. I love your name by the way. It so unique since your father is a baker and everything. Rye bread is my favorite bread after all.” Luna flirted.   
“Yeah, it is my favorite bread too mostly because it is named after me.” Rye replied with a little smile.   
“You mean you are named after the bread. The bread was being eaten long before you were born.” I added in and Rye and Luna both just looked at me.   
“Oh… but it is still named after me.” Rye tried to explain wanting to sound smart but failing miserably.   
“Right, I get what you are saying.” Luna replied turning her attention back to Rye.   
Rye glared back at Luna. There was an awkward silence for serval minutes, and Luna and Rye fixed their eyes on each other with a unique gleam in their eyes.   
Rye stared into Luna’s gray expressive cat eyes. She had the features of a cat. Her face was round. She had chubby cheeks, thick eyebrows, small nose, wide gray eyes, and short black hair that fell to the bottom of her chin.   
Despite her features she still resembled a cat overall.   
“Ok, well I don’t know about anyone else here, but I smell like a dying rat, so I’m claiming the bathroom first.” I said breaking the silence or tension or whatever was occurring before me.   
“Oh yeah, speaking of rats and the bathroom. First, don’t be alarmed if you see a rat, their popular here in District 8, but their mainly harmless since their used to humans. Secondly, don’t worry about the bathroom. This may be a small tenement that fit for rats, but we actually have a shower, toilet, and running water, so don’t be discouraged about the curtain covering the bathroom. The door to the bathroom was missing when moved to this room.” Luna spoke gesturing towards the room covered by a curtain.   
“Great, and we should really get Zen off the coach to prevent from contaminating it with his clothes and body that has pretty much been dragged through the mud.” I said which would explain why we smelled like an outhouse in District 11.   
I had worked in the apple orchard during every harvest season, and I worked as a gardener after harvest season ended, but I had never smelt sour and musty for such a long period of time. Then I figured I could have smelt worse considering I hadn’t cleansed myself in God knows how long.  
“Cool. I think I’m going to go back out and receive our weekly can goods. Is there anything else any of you need? If so, I will be happy to get it for you.” Luna stated eagerly, and I could tell she must have been really bored or lonely. Her little brother was mute, and I assumed she had very few people to socialize with.   
“Actually, there is a lot. Since we aren’t planning on staying here any longer than we have to, Zen’s going to need something to help him walk around. Whether it is a cane or a wheelchair, which in my opinion, it would be more realistic to find him a cane. Then he’ll probably need some morphling since he’ll probably be in a lot of pain by tonight because he was struck by lightning just the other day. I know it’s a lot, so if it’s too much trouble for you.” I said trying to be considerate.   
“Nonsense. That’s what I’m here for. To help you guys, and I know a few people over at the hospital who can help me. So I’ll be back with your order in a jiffy.” Luna said rushing out of the apartment.   
“Hey, can you grab something for my wrist too. I think I may have a hairline fracture or something from falling into the sinkhole. So if you could get me some pain medication, numbing medication, or a cast that would be great.” I requested and Luna nodded.  
“Sure thing, if you want to clean your clothes make sure to hang them on the line outside the window.” Luna replied and I nodded.   
“All right and thanks.” I replied dryly.   
“It’s no problem at all.” Luna said and then she finally exited the apartment. I sat my bag down on the floor. The bag had been thrown across my chest for so long I almost forget it existed. It wasn’t filled with anything valuable, so it was like I was carrying around nothing. The bag was so empty I really was not carrying any extra weight.   
It contained my other outfit that was a gift to me from Eros and Verna.   
After Luna was gone, I turned my attention back towards Zen and Rye. I saw Rye was sitting on the arm of the filthy yellow coach while Zen’s body was stretched across the coach. I guessed since the coach already had black stains that resembled burnt blotches, Luna didn’t care about a few dried mud stains that would come from the mud and dirt stains on Rye and Zen’s clothes.   
The dirt on our clothes were dry, but the last thing I would want to do is stain someone’s coach.   
My eyes caught Luna’s little brother Gunnar sitting down on the hardwood floor beside Luna’s closet in the left hand corner of the room. Gunnar was so quiet and still, it was possible to forget he was in the room or that he existed. I suddenly realized that was the same thing people said about me back home in District 11. They thought I was so quiet it was like I didn’t exist. I thought it was strange for them to say since people never failed to glare at me in a judgmental way. I wondered how they could forget someone that they never failed to judge.  
People thought that I somehow believed I was more superior just because I didn’t say anything to anyone. I never spoke or cracked a smile because I didn’t see a reason to. I was just grateful to wake up every day and have the ability to get to and from work and school. Just because I sometimes counted my few blessings did not mean I would pretend to be someone I wasn’t. 

I was a naturally unapproachable person and being a hypocrite was not my strong suit. That is why I knew I was wrong for labeling Gunnar as quiet, no the truth was he was traumatized like me for similar reasons, and he handled grief differently from me.   
I looked away from Gunnar to see Rye making his way towards the bathroom.   
“Wait, where are you going?” I asked walking in front of Rye trying to block him from the bathroom.   
“I haven’t pissed or shitted in days. You don’t remember what I said in that hole?” Rye stated. 

“There is nothing wrong with memory. I can recall your unnecessary cursing vividly, and the same goes for Zen and me. We have all been starved, deprived of our bodily functions, sleep, and good hygiene. But I still called the bathroom first, so you can go in their when I’m done.” I said and Rye looked bored or exhausted.   
“Have you seen my hair? I used to get haircuts every week and condition this every morning, and now look at it. It’s a curly mess.” Rye replied stroking his hand through the luxurious curls, and I just noticed Rye’s new appearance.   
I hadn’t paid his features too much attention recently with everything going on, and it wouldn’t be logical or appropriate even if I did notice his new look. Staring at Rye to long would just give him the wrong impression.   
His raven colored locks were in thick tight curls that fell all the way down to his neck. I was surprised Rye didn’t have any facial hair, but then I realized he wasn’t a real man. He was just an immature seventeen year old with shiny dark and curly locks.   
I felt his curly hair didn’t suit his narrowed head shape.   
“Your curly hair is not my problem Rye. Just in case you haven’t noticed my hair is a dry and wild mess. Normally, my hair is straight and long, but now it just looks like I have been dragged through a storm, which I technically was. My point is we have been through hell this week, so as usual you have no room to complain.” I stated and Rye did not seem to be paying me any attention.   
“You want me to die of kidney failure, don’t you? If my parents are still alive I am going to tell them you tried to kill me twice.” Rye replied.   
“If you die from kidney failure you won’t be able to tell your parents anything, now move out of my way.” I commanded grabbing onto Rye’s shoulders and pushing him out of the way.   
Rye narrowed his eyes at me. We both just stood their staring at each other in silence. I refused to crack or move away from the door. I stared at Rye with no emotion reaching my eyes while his eyes continued to narrow as he gawked at me. We played a staring game for several minutes with neither one of us moving a muscle. We both stood in place until there was a coughing noise coming from the left corner of the room.   
Rye turned around immediately, and I laughed lightly.   
“I win.” I said and Rye turned his attention towards me again. Rye was obviously easily distracted.   
“Win what? I didn’t even know we were playing a game. Ouch! Now my eyes hurt.” Rye replied rubbing his watery eyes.   
“We were playing a staring game, and you lost when you looked over at Gunnar after he coughed, so move out of my way.” I demanded two seconds away from just pushing him out of the way.   
Rye stopped rubbing his eyes and remained in place.   
“I can’t help it coughed.”   
“Are you talking about Gunnar?” I asked knowing that could be the only thing he meant.   
“Yeah, I thought Luna said the kid doesn’t talk.” Rye said with a confused expression painted on his newly pale skin.   
“Just because he is mute doesn’t mean he cannot cough you idiot.” I responded secretly knowing that Gunnar coughed because he was aware that Rye would get distracted, and then I could go to the bathroom.  
“Now make like a river and move. The sooner I get in the bathroom, the sooner you get to use the bathroom.” I stated pushing Rye out of the way. I shoved Rye lightly, and he stumbled like a strong man like Tex touched him.  
I shook my head at his pitifulness, and I glanced over at Zen who seemed to be awfully quiet.   
Zen was sound asleep, and I slowly slid the curtain’s that substituted the bathroom door out of my way. I entered the bathroom, and I was suddenly standing in complete darkness.   
I strained my eyes to see a golden string hanging from the ceiling. I pulled the string, and the light in the bathroom flashed on. I looked up at the water stained ceiling to see a dim light bulb that resembled the ones on the stairways of the tenement.   
I grew up in a one bedroom wooden shack with a square hole in the wall for a window, and one old fashioned gas lamp as the only sources of electricity. So I was used to being in a rundown living environment.   
The light from the dim bulb began to flicker on and off constantly, and I wanted nothing more than to run out of the bathroom and crawl back into a hole underground. At least there would be no reminder of my poverty ridden home or the violence and death from the hunger games.   
I looked away from the ceiling, and I directed my eyes towards the image before me. There was a plain rectangular shaped mirror with large black spots in all four corners of the mirror. The glass in the mirror had a blur in the center of it, but I tried to absorb my facial features. 

The image of my face was not clear, but through the blur I could see a faint picture of a monster, a monster covered in dried mud.   
There were dried black and brown patches of mud on my cheeks and stuck in my hair. My hair was wild and coarse flying off of my head like an untamed animal. I wasn’t used to seeing my hair be so wild and unmanageable. Even during stormy weather in District 11, my hair always fell straight down my back, which I always considered myself fortunate for my long, straight hair since there were no hair products available in District 11.  
I sighed wondering if Luna had any hair products to apply to my hair to help it return to its normal straight and less coarse appearance.   
My eyes scanned the bathroom that appeared like it had been set on fire several times. The bathroom was not even fit for the rotting corpses in District 11. The walls of the bathroom were painted dark green with black burn marks plastered on the walls. On the right side of the bathroom was a wooden cabinet sitting against the wall next to the curtain or pretend door. The cabinet was average in size with a sliver, rusty handle. I wondered was there any hair products behind it.   
I touched the handle and opened the scratched up wooden cabinet. There was three narrow shelves with a blurry piece of glass behind it. The first shelf had four toothbrushes, the second shelf had one tube of toothpaste, and a bar of mint scented tan colored soap. The third shelf had four small off white towels, and a medium sized hairbrush with a small red button in the center of the brush’s handle.   
I grabbed onto the black brush with my undamaged hand, and I eagerly ran the brush across my coarse hair hoping that I would not break the brush. My thumb accidently ran across the red button, but I did not let it stop me from trying to brush through the tangled bush on my head. The sharp bristles began to feel warmer against my hair, and I started to see the tangles and knots disappear, and my hair fell straighter. I brushed my thick hair roughly, and the brush got warmer and warmer. My hair became like silk, and it returned to its usual straight appearance. I hit the red button again hoping that it would turn the hot brush off.   
I was about to sit the brush back into the cabinet, but then I noticed how filthy it was. I gazed down at the white sink with rust stains covering the inside and outside of it. I turned the rusty circular hot water knob on the sink and cold water poured onto my good hand and the brush.   
I shivered from the icy cold water, and I was suddenly reminded of the freezing cold temperature of the arena in the Hunger Games. I would never claim PTSD from the Games, but any slight remainder caused me an overwhelming amount of anxiety. When the cold water made contact with my skin, I could feel a chill going down spine and suddenly I was in the arena again. I was fighting for my life, freezing to death, and starving. I was on the edge of falling to my death fearing what mutant or enemy would try to kill me next.   
Every time I closed my eyes I could see everything that I desperately wanted to erase.   
I quickly turned the cold water to hot, and I splashed the wash water against my dirt stained face using only my good hand.  
Hoping I could somehow wash away the memories. My eyes burned from being dry and surrounded by invisible bacteria on my face. I continued to scrub against my face with one hand.   
Once I was done, I decided to be stupid and run the warm water across my possibly fractured wrist. As soon as the water my contact with my hand and wrist, I winced in pain. The pain was indescribable, but I knew that I had to wash the dirt away somehow.   
After I was done washing my hands and face, I walked out of the bathroom to get my other outfit out of my bag. My bag was sitting right outside of the bathroom, so I was able to quickly grab my clothes, but before I walked back into the bathroom I caught Rye talking to Gunnar. He was obviously testing the kid, and I rolled my eyes at Rye’s idiocrasy.   
When I walked into the bathroom, I moved towards the shower that sat at the very end of the small square shaped bathroom.   
The shower didn’t have any curtains, there was only a rusty silver shower head and handle, with an olive green wall on the side, and a violet colored furry rug on the floor I assumed was used to prevent your feet from being extremely wet.   
I took a quick shower, and when I got out of the bathroom I saw Rye still chattering in the corner with Gunnar.   
“Are you still bothering him?” I asked knowing it was clearly not a question.  
“Bothering who?” Rye asked looking puzzled. He made eye contact for the first time, and then his eyes quickly scanned the rest of my body.   
“You changed clothes.”   
“No, I decided to keep the filthy dirt covered clothes on after taking a shower.” I stated with no humor in my voice.   
A small part of me was just stunned that Rye noticed. I was dressed in another pair of tight fitted black pants, a plain gray short sleeved top, a pair of short black boots with sliver laces, and a black tight fitted military jacket with sliver buttons.   
“It doesn’t matter what I have on anyway. Just leave Luna’s little brother alone.”   
“Hey, I was just making conversation, since I can’t talk to the burnt cheese bun on the coach.”  
“The what? You mean Zen?” I said not trying to question Rye and his weird mind.   
“But I’ll leave your boyfriend alone now that I finally get to go the bathroom.” Rye stated and my eyes widen in disgust and shock.   
“I know you are not referring to Gunnar as my boyfriend. First of all I don’t have a boyfriend, and even if I was dumb enough to have one it wouldn’t be a boy around the age of eleven. That is disgusting, vile, and illegal.” I replied and Rye just shrugged.   
“Who said it was illegal? President Chronis. Hey, I’m not saying anything, but a ten year old girl hit on me once.”   
“And did you pursue her?” I asked.   
“No… I don’t do relationships, and my parents were around.” Rye confessed.   
“Seriously. You put ass in classy Rye, just when I thought you couldn’t disgust me anymore than you have in the past, you prove me wrong.” I responded and Rye shrugged.   
He walked towards his bag and pulled out his other outfit to change into.   
“Hey, where are the tiles?” Rye asked while zipping up his bag.   
“I don’t know Rye I don’t live here. Their probably in Luna’s closet.” I said and Rye opened the closet immediately. 

At the bottom of the closet was a plastic storage box with white small and big towels, toothbrushes, eating utensils, toothpaste, and soap.   
Rye grabbed a toothbrush and a big and small towel out of the box, then he shut the closet.   
“You took so long in the bathroom. I would have walked in on you, but I didn’t want to have more nightmares than I usually have.” Rye replied walking past me and towards the bathroom.   
I punched him in the shoulder as he passed me, and he started backing away laughing.   
“That is not funny.” I said and Rye laughed so hard, he started coughing. He coughed several droplets of blood in his hand, and it was like he didn’t even notice.   
“You are coughing up blood.” I addressed.   
“Yeah I am.” Rye said realizing it for the first time. He frowned a little in confusion.   
“Whatever, I need to go take a shit and a shower.” Rye said walking toward the bathroom.   
Several minutes after Rye got in the shower, Luna walked through the door carrying a large black garbage bag.   
“Alright, I come bearing gifts.” Luna said.   
She sat the bag on the floor and shut the door.   
“First thing first, I got the medical stuff. I got Zen an old, wooden cane, I got you a black hand cast Zara, and I got one syringe of morphling.”   
“Why did you just get one syringe?” I asked.   
“Because Tex is the one of who went to the hospital for me. He used to be in a relationship with one of the nurses, so he was able to score me some stuff. But I guess she didn’t want to lose her job or be accused of stealing, so just gave him one syringe.”   
“That’s fine I guess.” I said and Luna continued.  
“Good, and I grabbed like ten canned goods from District 8’s famous processed food store the place where lowly factor workers like me and Gunnar are required to receive our food. It’s unhealthy and unappetizing, but the food is free since we are factory workers.” Luna explained.   
“I also grabbed some more eating utensils and a can opener that you guys can use to open your cans.”  
“Great, thanks Luna for everything.” I said.  
“No problem, was their anything else that you needed because I will be happy to go back out there.” Luna insisted.   
“No I think we’re good, I don’t want to be a burden on you and your brother.”   
“Nonsense, you three are our guests, and your needs come before ours. Now, let me help you place this cute cast on. I figured it would probably be difficult for you with one hand.” Luna stated.   
I sat down on the arm of the coach and held out my hand.   
“Keep your hand still.” Luna instructed, and I frowned from the anticipation of the pain.   
“No problem there.” I said and Luna slowly slipped the black hand cast on. There was a space on the cast for my four fingers, and then a space for my thumb. The cast extended from my fingers to my wrist.   
I took a deep breath trying not to scream. “Sorry, I didn’t get you any pain medication. Like I said Tex got everything from the hospital.”   
“I understand completely.” I said wanting her to stop repeating herself.   
“Alright all done.” Luna said.   
“Your jacket is so cute it matches your black cast. Where did you get that outfit?” Luna said and I realized she must have really valued clothes. I assumed it was a District 8 thing.   
“My fashion designer from the Games, Eros gave me two outfits as a gift before I went home.” I said.  
“That’s so cool. I wish I had a fashion designer from the Capitol.” Luna said with a somber expression.   
“No you don’t. Having a designer from the Capitol means that you would have to be in the Hunger Games, and that should be the last thing anyone wants. You don’t need a designer from the Games or the Capitol to wear nice clothes.” I stated.   
“That’s true. I see you straightened your hair.” Luna pointed out.   
“Yeah, I hope you don’t mind I used your brush.”   
“No not at all. It was passed down from my mother, she used to brush my hair all the time when I was a little kid.” Luna said.   
“My mother used to brush my hair too.” I replied with a small smile.   
“Expect, you have long, beautiful, and straight hair while I’m stuck with this silky, short mess.” Luna replied and I didn’t know what to say. I never reacted well to compliments. One reason is because I never expected them.   
“I just wish Zen could clean himself properly.” I said changing the subject. I sat on the arm of the coach beside Zen’s head, and I decided to run my fingers through his long silky hair.   
I used my good hand to stroke Zen’s hair.   
I never liked affection, and I didn’t have a nurturing bone in my body, but somehow it felt natural for me to want to comfort or confide in Zen.   
Several minutes passed, and all of sudden we heard a loud retching sound coming from the bathroom.   
The sound seem to grow louder and louder. “Is he ok?” She asked.   
“I don’t know. It sounds like he is vomiting, Rye was coughing up blood earlier.” I stated knowing why.   
“Shouldn’t you go check on him?” She asked with worry clear in her voice.   
“You can go check on him if you want, but if he throws up blood on you you’ll regret your decision.” I answered.   
“I’m going to go see if he is ok.” Luna replied.  
Luna walked towards the bathroom curtain.   
“Rye are you all right?” She asked and Rye answered with a gag.  
After Rye vomited some more the room grew quiet for several seconds, and I stroked Zen’s dark brown silky hair to calm my nerves.   
“I’m coming in to check on you.” Luna said pushing back the curtain, and I silently prayed Rye wasn’t naked, I could never recover from something like that.   
When Luna pushed back the curtain, we both saw Rye lying on the bathroom floor fully clothed with blood and vomit running out the side of his mouth.   
I stopped touching Zen’s hair, and then I felt a soft and tickly substance in my hand. I looked down to see a hand full of Zen’s hair sitting in my hand.   
The scene of Rye lying unconscious on the floor and a third of Zen’s hair in my hand was just too horrific from me to process at once.   
Zara POV: The Hunger Games  
Cain, Zen, Loni, and I all sat around the fire watching the smoke rise in the air not caring whether anyone found us or not.   
I had lost my self-worth a long time ago.   
Rye was lying several feet away from the rest of us because he claimed he didn’t feel well.   
As if anyone cared.   
The fire that burned so vibrantly and fiercely seemed to simmer down, and we were left to feel the cool night air.   
“I’ll go get some firewood.” I volunteered.   
“Then I’m going too.” Cain said standing up from his log.   
“I didn’t ask for someone to come with me.” I said eyeing Cain.   
“I know, but I got your back. I know you need constant protection.” Cain stated.   
“No I don’t. I always look out for myself.” I responded.   
“Yeah, when one of your boy toy’s aren’t around.” Cain said.   
“I don’t have boy toys and I can handle myself, ok. Besides we haven’t seen any threats or mutants in days.”  
“I’ll go with Zara.” Loni offered.   
“Uh oh, you’re really in trouble now Zara.” Cain joked.   
I looked at Cain and then Loni. “Fine, I don’t care who tags along. I just need to take a walk anyway and clear my head.” I said, and then I walked away.   
I walked through the dark forest not caring whether Loni or Cain was behind me. I heard footsteps, but I didn’t care enough to let them catch up with me.   
I really did need to clear my mind. My head had been clouded with worry and fears the past couple of days, and I did not know how to contain it.   
The sound of footsteps suddenly stopped, and I turned around to see if someone was standing behind me, but there was no one in sight.   
I took a deep breath, and I realized I was really becoming paranoid. Then I closed my eyes, and I counted to ten.   
When I opened my eyes there was still no one there.   
My eyes scanned my surroundings more to make sure I wasn’t missing any lurking mutants or tributes hiding behind the bushes.   
Then I felt a cold hand touch my shoulder from behind.   
I turned around, and before I could really see the person standing in front of me a sharp pain hit the front of my head.   
My vision suddenly became blurred, and my head was throbbing in pain. My body hit the ground, and I slowly lifted my face from the dirt.   
I tried to strain my eyes and see the person standing above me.   
It was Loni.   
“You should really be more prepared for this by now, Zara. I mean seriously. How many life or death situations have you been in?” Loni questioned.   
I attempted to regain my sense of reality and recuperate from the log that she smacked me in the face with.   
My vision was slowly returning, and I managed to stand on my feet. I was slightly disoriented, so I touched the tree beside me to prevent from fainting again.   
“I am going to kill you Zara, just in case it wasn’t obvious. I know this is the part where you ask me what I am doing.” Loni replied.   
“That’s not what I was going to say.”   
“Oh yeah and what were you going to say?”   
“Well, I was going to ask what did I ever do to you, but then I realized how lame that sounded so I just settled on regaining consciousness.” I replied.   
Loni huffed. “Why am I not surprised? I’ll tell you what, how about I do you a favor. Let’s make this a hands on fight. I figured it wouldn’t be fair to use weapons since I have a sword and you have sickle.”   
“That works. But you’ll regret it when I win.” I stated.   
“Try me.” Loni stated, and then she picked up a large nearby tree limb and hit me across my abdomen knocking the wind of me. 

“I thought you said we weren’t fighting with weapons.” I croaked.   
“I just wanted to weaken you.” Loni said, and I really didn’t feel like fighting.   
“How about you just leave me alone, and I’ll pretend like you never tried to kill me?” I stated, and I fell onto my knees beside the tree.   
“I can’t believe my ears. Do I hear the sound of Zara Fitin giving up?”   
“Maybe.” I said crawling away from Loni.  
“Come on, get up and fight me!” She exclaimed. Loni kicked me on my right side causing me to roll onto my back.   
I was lying on the ground with my eyes pointed toward Loni, and suddenly I lost my sense of reality. The line between right and wrong or good and evil started to become blurred, and I could only focus on one thing.   
Survival. Survival had become my first and last instinct, and all of a sudden my instincts were sent into overdrive.   
“Or maybe I’m just stalling and trying to figure out a way to kill you.” I said springing to feet.   
I ran towards Loni and leaped on top of her. I grabbed her face with both my hands and I pressed my thumbs against her eyes hoping to press them into her skull.   
Little did I realize that Loni’s hands were free, so she grabbed my hair that happened to be hanging down.   
Loni pulled my hair with both her hands using all of her strength, and I moved off of her trying to break free from her tight grip on my hair.   
Once I moved away from Loni, I noticed a hand full of my hair in hands.   
Loni’s eyes were red from irritation, and I wished that she was somehow blinded.   
Then Loni took out her sword from the bag attached on her back, and I stood to my feet again ready to dodge her swings.   
Loni’s first swing was aimed at my head, and I leaned back, and then I took several steps back.   
Loni was only inches away from cutting me across my face. Then I realized Loni was determined to either kill me or permanently deform me.   
“I really don’t want to fight you Loni.” I said feeling tired of all the bullshit.   
Loni took a swing at my neck for the first time. “What scared I am going to win?” Loni questioned, and I refused to answer.   
I dodged her swing, and the sword went over my head. I concluded that our one sided fight was getting pointless, so I did the only logical thing a restless person could do. I ran.   
Before Loni could lift her sword to take another swing, I ran away. I ran through the fertile forest once again not caring what I encountered. If I encountered a mutant they would only be doing me a favor.   
Loni was not only a skilled fighter, but she was also an excellent runner. At first she trailed me through the forest, but with my experience in the Games, and my will to live I managed to out run her.   
I ran so fast Loni had lost sight of me. I ran in the opposite direction of where everyone was staying for the night, I speculated that if I ran and told everyone Loni was trying to kill me that would make me look pathetic, and Loni was just deny it. She would probably claim I was hallucinating.   
I continued to run until I made it to the arena’s lake. The lake was filled with dark, murky, unsanitary looking water that would cause someone to suffer from a serious infection, but I had no other choice but to jump into the water.   
I heard footsteps throughout the forest, and I wasn’t sure if it was Loni or something else.   
I didn’t care either. I jumped in the unclean water that was around five feet deep. I swam to the far right of the lake, and I stood near the edge of the water waiting on Loni’s arrival and hoping that nothing grabbed me from under water.   
I could hear distant and heavy pants nearby, and my heart pounded in anticipation.   
Finally, after several long painful seconds of waiting I saw Loni running towards the lake. Her quick pace decreased, and Loni was about to stop when she got closer to the edge of the lake, but she suddenly slipped on something beneath her feet before she could halt her footsteps.   
Loni’s entire body seemed to be sucked into the thick, wet, and muddy patch of marsh that sat at the edge of the lake on the right side. Loni struggled and tried to escape the marsh, and I thought she resembled a mud creature.   
She was unrecognizable covered in the black substance.   
“Zara help me!” Loni gurgled through the marsh that slid down her throat.   
Her voice had become distorted. “What are you afraid I am going to win? See this is why, I didn’t want to fight you Loni. I knew this would happen.”   
Loni reached her arms out towards me, but the marsh seemed to suck her further under preventing her from reaching me.   
Loni was covered with marsh up to her neck, and she was slowly sliding further into the death trap.   
“Now, you’ll just be a name in the long list of people death’s I’m responsible for.” I spat and Loni had mud covering her eyes.   
The marsh consumed the rest of Loni’s body, and the last trace of her to disappear was one of her hands.   
Once Loni was gone, I hoped that she was really dead, and then I decided to not worry about it. No one could survive drowning in marsh, and then Loni’s only weakness was she couldn’t swim.   
I couldn’t swim, but I could wade my way through a five foot body of water. After I dismissed my worries, I swam out of the contaminated water, and I walked all the way back to where the others were.   
I was amazed I knew the way back.   
I arrived at the site covered in water, freezing cold, and tired.   
Everyone looked at me as I stood before them. “Loni’s dead.” I confessed, and everyone still stared at me.   
“I killed her.”   
“I told you she wasn’t going to last long. You should’ve took that offer and let me go with you, but hey nobody listens to me.” Cain said and I couldn’t tell whether he was serious or humorous.   
I rolled my eyes. Then I directed my attention to Rye who seemed to be quietly whimpering in pain still lying near his log beside the fire. Cain sat near him and Zen sat over him.   
“What’s wrong with Rye now?” I asked not out of concern.   
“Well, Blue Moon over here examined Rye’s scratch, and apparently he has got some kind of blood infection that has spread.” Cain said.   
“He needs some medicine otherwise he’ll die.” Zen stated with concern in his eyes.   
I listened to Zen and Cain’s words intently, and none of it made since.   
Rye couldn’t die. Rye and death did not sense in the same sentence, so there was no possible way he could die.   
It was not logical. It wasn’t realistic, but then I thought that nothing in my life was ever practical, so I quickly decided to face the truth. 

Rye Mellark, Katniss and Peeta’s son, and Panem’s greatest heros son was dying. 

AN: AHHHH!!!! It’s been a long time since I updated. I think. I don’t even remember when I updated this.   
Anyway, school has kept me busy, but at least I passed all my exams and I got all A’s and B’s.   
My American Lit teacher gave me a high C all because of one mistake on my A Rose for Emily collage… The teacher disliked me for no reason.   
On to other news, I watched Mockingjay Part 2 and the execution scene was intense. I can still hear those drums. The only negative thought I had about the movie was the epilogue scene. Now, I have never read the books, but I still had high hopes for the epilogue, and I was disappointed. They made Rye the oldest! What!   
However, my favorite scene was Finnick’s death because I’m creepy like that. I loved the part where the mutants whispered Katniss name. It was almost scary in a good way. I also almost shipped Finnick and Katniss after that death scene, but I’m still cool with Everlark as well.   
Hope you liked this almost 10,000 word chapter! I want to write a Hunger Games Christmas AU with my characters so bad, but no one would read it or care. IF you are interested in an AU just message me.


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